The vote came amid allegations of economic and political mismanagement, with opponents accusing him of failing to revive the economy and tackle corruption. Khan has accused his opponents of colluding with the United States to oust him, but did not provide evidence and urged people to take to the streets this weekend in protest. After losing the ballot late Saturday night, Khan wrote on Twitter on Sunday: “Pakistan became an independent state in 1947, but the struggle for freedom begins again today against a foreign regime conspiracy. “It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty and democracy.” Opposition politicians submitted the proposal last Sunday, and Mr Kahn responded by dissolving parliament and calling early elections – a move the Supreme Court later ruled illegal. Mr Khan, an Oxford graduate and former cricket star, came to power in 2018, but recently lost his parliamentary majority and a leading newspaper described him as “as good as he left”. The lead in the vote was turbulent in the Pakistani parliament as members of Mr Khan’s party tried to block the vote. Opposing politicians have accused him of treason in an attempt to overturn a Supreme Court claim. Image: Imran Khan urged people to demonstrate this weekend Mr Kahn had meetings with senior military officials, raising fears that he would try to impose martial law to retain power. Pakistan’s top judge has prepared the Supreme Court to rule that the government despises the court if it did not allow the no-confidence vote to be heard before midnight. Opposition parties were able to secure 174 votes in the 342-member House of Representatives to support the motion of censure. Few politicians from Hahn’s ruling party were present at the process, according to Reuters. Image: Pakistani opposition leaders Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, center, and Shahbaz Sharif, right, criticize Khan. Photo: AP Opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif – the brother of jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif – is set to become caretaker Prime Minister. The opposition said it would hold general elections, which are expected in October at the earliest. The drama threatened new political instability in the nuclear-armed country of 220 million. On the streets of the capital Islamabad, there was a strong police and paramilitary presence, with containers being used to block roads. No prime minister has completed a full five-year term since Britain’s independence from Britain in 1947. The Pakistani military has ruled the country for almost half of its 75-year history, overthrowing successive democratically elected governments. For the rest of that time he was manipulating indirectly elected governments behind the scenes.
