With captain Imran Khan missing, PTI govt in Pakistan loses trust vote

Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lost the no-confidence vote on early Sunday in one of the most dramatic parliament proceedings witnessed in the history of Pakistan.

In the 342-member house, a majority of 174 MPs voted in favour of the resolution of vote of no-confidence against Imran Khan, and it was passed in the National Assembly.

Notably, Khan and the parliamentarians from his party were not present when the voting took place.

During the midnight drama, even before the no-confidence vote began, both National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser and Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri resigned after meeting Khan, giving a major twist to an already topsy turvy parliament session.

Minutes after the session resumed, Qaiser announced, “I can't sit in the chair. I am resigning from the post.”

Immediately after that, parliamentarian Sardar Ayaz Sadiq took over the chair of the speaker and started conducting the no-trust vote, even as the PTI members walked out of the National Assembly.

After the voting concluded, Imran Khan and his personal staff left the Prime Minister's House, ending the three-and-a-half-years of a tumultuous premiership, marked by reported tiffs with Pakistan Army chief Bajwa, economic instability and high inflation.

Reacting to the unceremonious exit, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry, tweeted, “Sad day for Pakistan…Return of looters, a good man sent home.”

Meanwhile, a request has been made in the Islamabad High Court to put Imran Khan, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and Fawad Chaudharyon the Exit Control List of Pakistan, effectively barring them from leaving the country, reports Geo News.

Earlier in the day, the crucial session of Pakistan's Parliament was convened after the Supreme Court ruled against the deputy speaker and paved the way for no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan.

It witnessed multiple adjournments, heated arguments, but the voting onno-confidence motion against Khan appeared to be a possibility before the end of the day.

The joint opposition comprising socialist, liberal and radically religious parties needed 172 members in the 342-member house to oust Khan.

They managed to muster the support of more than the needed strength with the help of some allies of the ruling coalition and rebels from Khan's PTI party.

The session began with the remarks of Leader of the Opposition and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif who hailed Thursday as a historic day in Pakistan's history when the Supreme Court rejected the deputy speaker's ruling.

He added that the apex court's decision had made the country's future "bright".

Meanwhile, Chief Justice of Pakistan opened the Supreme Court's doors at 12 am, after Qaiser did not allowvoting on the no-confidence motion, reports Pakistan's Geo News quoting sources.

Pakistan Supreme Court’s bar association had filed a petition seeking contempt of charge against the speaker for not following the court’s mandates.

Meanwhile, Khan's PTI on Saturday filed a review petition in the Supreme Court challenging its decision to declare the ruling of the deputy speaker to dismiss the no-confidence resolution against the prime minister as unconstitutional.

The petition has urged the apex court to "review, recall and set aside" its order, "which is based on errors floating on the surface" and "the captioned causes be dismissed/discharged".

Watch |Pakistan Political Crisis Live Updates: Voting on no-confidence motion concludes

(With inputs from agencies)