Imran Khan ousted as prime minister

• Imran Khan: has warned that he would not accept “an imported government”.Imran Khan was dismissed yesterday as prime minister after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament following weeks of political turmoil.This followed a nearly 14-hour stand-off between the opposition and Khan’s ruling party that started yesterday morning.Acting Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq said 174 lawmakers had voted in favour of the motion, “consequently the vote of no confidence has passed”.There were just a few legislators of Khan’s ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party present for the process.No prime mister has ever served a full term in Pakistan, but Khan is the first to lose office through a vote of no confidence.It was not immediately clear when the assembly will choose a new premier but, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was almost certain to be picked to lead the nuclear-armed nation of 220mn people after weeks of high political drama.Khan, 69, tried everything he could to stay in power – including dissolving parliament and calling a fresh election – but the Supreme Court deemed all his actions illegal last week, and ordered the assembly to reconvene and vote.The voting came after the country’s powerful army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa met Khan, two sources said, as criticism mounted over the delay in the parliamentary process.Asad Qaisar, a PTI member, had adjourned the house three times yesterday, before announcing his resignation as speaker, heightening the drama in the chamber.“The country’s interests must be the priority,” he said.Khan’s allies blocked the no-confidence motion last week and dissolved the lower house of parliament, prompting the country’s Supreme Court to intervene and allow the vote to go through.The prime minister’s supporters claim there is a foreign conspiracy to oust him.Khan surged to power in 2018, but recently lost his parliamentary majority when allies quit his coalition government.Opposition parties say he has failed to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic or fulfil promises to make Pakistan a corruption-free, prosperous nation respected on the world stage.The cricket star turned politician has vowed to “struggle” against any move to replace him.The editor-in-chief of the Friday Times Najam Sethi said that Khan had seemed bent on defying the orders of the Supreme Court.“That means he is either on a politically suicidal path or is being egged on to continue resistance in the expectation of last minute support/intervention from elements in the Miltablishment,” he said, referring to the military.The opposition and some analysts say Khan has fallen out with the military, a charge he and the military deny.The army has ruled the state for half its 75-year post-colonial history.Khan, who enjoyed widespread popular support when he took office, said late on Friday that he was disappointed with the top court ruling but accepted it.However, he warned that he would not recognise any opposition government that replaced him.“I will not accept an imported government,” he told the nation in a late-night address, suggesting the move to oust him was part of a foreign conspiracy and calling for peaceful protests today. “I’m ready for a struggle.”