Following a tense session of the lower house of parliament that began Saturday morning, a coalition of Pakistani opposition parties won the support of 174 members of the 342-seat House of Representatives to vote against Khan. “We will bring stability to Pakistan. “There will be no revenge against anyone,” said Sehbaz Sharif, the opposition leader after the vote. Sharif, the son of a leading industrial family and the brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for three terms, has been nominated by the opposition to become the next prime minister in a vote expected to appoint him as Pakistan’s new leader on Sunday. Khan, a popular international cricket star, became prime minister in 2018 following promises of reform in Pakistan. While in power, he changed the image of the playboy from the 1970s and 1980s and became a fan of conservative Islam, hailing the Taliban’s victory in Afghanistan last year. But his ousting more than a year before next summer’s election comes at a time of growing economic challenges for the country. The Nuclear Nation is in the middle of a $ 6 billion IMF loan program that includes unpopular measures, including price increases for utilities.

Meanwhile, rapidly rising inflation, due in part to the effects of rising commodity prices, has sparked warnings of turmoil. “Insult, unstable governance, poor financial management and the intolerance of the opposition were among the main factors responsible for his downfall,” said Maleeha Lodhi, a former US ambassador to the United Nations who is now a political commentator. Prior to Khan’s departure, there were reports that the powerful Pakistani army had withdrawn its support for the prime minister. The opposition claimed after his election in 2018 that the army had played a decisive role in securing his victory, including influencing top politicians to support him. Senior army officers have denied the allegations. Pakistan has been ruled by the military for just under half of its 75 years of existence since gaining independence from Britain’s Raj. “The future transition is full of challenges, especially in terms of managing a debt-ridden economy and inflation,” Lodhi said. “The road ahead is characterized by uncertainty. “But the good news is that the constitution has won and democracy has been strengthened.” Business leaders have warned that the new government will face difficult challenges, such as popular outrage over rising fuel and electricity prices. Last month, under increasing pressure from his political opponents, Kahn announced a subsidy on fuel and electricity bills in a bid to win popular support. A senior finance ministry official in Islamabad told the FT that the IMF had objected to the subsidies. “This is not a good time for any new leadership to take over Pakistan,” said the head of a leading company in Karachi, Pakistan’s southern port city. Separately, a senior opposition leader told the FT that Sharif could announce parliamentary elections before the end of this year “to avoid going to the polls. [in 2023] when economic trends could make his government more unpopular. “ In recent weeks, Kahn has repeatedly claimed that he was the victim of an American conspiracy to oust him after his trip to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the day Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. U.S. officials have denied the allegations. Politicians close to Khan said he planned to raise the issue in the coming days to rally support. “Imran Khan wants the Pakistanis to remember him for standing up to America, even at the cost of losing power,” said one.