Will Pakistan PM Imran Khan face the axe? His key ally says '100%'

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan may lose the no-confidence motion in Parliament as three of his cabinet ministers are about to tender their resignation, a top leader from the party supporting the government said.

In an interview with Hum News on Tuesday, Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, whose Pakistan Muslim league-Quaid party is a key government partner with five members in the lower house National Assembly, asserted that the opposition had the support of “more than required” in order to pass the no-confidence plea.

"He is 100 per cent in trouble,” Elahi said, adding there are “plenty of surprises in store”.

"It's up to Imran Khan now to personally reach out to his allied parties and convince them to stay in the coalition government," Elahi said.

Elahi claimed that he had been offered Punjab’s chief minister position from the opposition alliance, adding that Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) party had yet to make that offer.

However, hours after his explosive interview, Elahi struck a conciliatory note saying that his party had neither left the government nor decided to support the no-trust move against PM Imran Khan.

In a statement issued through his party, he defined Khan is an “honest” person whose “intentions are good”.

"There are different opinions within a party but decisions are made through mutual consultation," he added.

Meanwhile, the voting on the no-confidence motion will take place on March 28.

The no-confidence plea was signed by about 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which was then submitted to the National Assembly Secretariat.

(With inputs from agencies)