Opposition submits no-confidence motion as Pak PM Khan says 'army stands with me'

In a massive jolt to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, the opposition lawmakers submitted a no-confidence motion seeking to ouster his government over failure to control inflation.

A delegation of lawmakers submitted the no-trust motion to the secretariat in the Parliament House in Islamabad.

A total of 86 Members of the National Assembly from the Opposition have signed the motion. As per rules, 68 MNAs need to sign the petition and the Speaker has 3-7 days to call the session for voting.

Further, PML-N MNAs have been directed to remain in Islamabad as the coming 3 weeks were crucial politically.

In order to make the no-confidence motion against the prime minister successful, the joint opposition requires the support of 172 MNAs.

Khan, 69, is heading a coalition government and he can be removed if some of the partners decide to switch sides, which is not unusual in parliamentary democracies.

This comes after a former minister and member of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Aleem Khan, switched sides with a rival faction in the party as he had reservations with the prime minister.

Khan has been facing heat for uncontrolled inflation that has broken the back of poor people of the country.

Khan, a former cricketer, came to power in 2018 and elections are to be held in 2023 if he succeeded to ward off the challenge of no-trust move.

He had promised to clean the country of corruption and create a new Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Khan asserted that his government would not be ousted and would become stronger.

"The army stands with me, it will never support thieves [...] and since the people are not backing the Opposition anymore, they are claiming that the establishment is supporting them," GEO TV quoted Khan as saying.

"A mind game is going on right now, and I am a master at it," he added.

Speaking about estranged PTI leader Jahangir Tareen, the prime minister said: "I know that he will never join these robbers."

(With inputs from agencies)