The united opposition, which extends across the political spectrum from the left to the radical religions, will form the new government, led by one of the largest parties, the Pakistan Muslim League, as prime minister. Anticipating his loss, Khan, who accused the opposition of plotting with the United States to overthrow him, called on his supporters to hold rallies across the country on Sunday. Khan’s options are limited and if he sees a strong turnout in his support, he could try to maintain the momentum of street protests as a way to pressure Parliament to hold early elections. Kahn had earlier tried to bypass the vote by dissolving parliament and calling early elections, but a Supreme Court ruling ordered the vote to take place. The vote comes amid strained relations between Khan and a powerful army that many of his political opponents claim helped him come to power in the 2018 general election. The military has ruled Pakistan directly for more than half of 75 years. and holds significant power over civilian governments, who are worried that a disgruntled army could overthrow them. Opposition groups called for Khan’s ouster, citing financial misconduct as inflation soared and the Pakistani rupee plummeted in value. The vote limits months of political turmoil and constitutional crisis that required the Supreme Court to settle. In a passionate speech Friday, Khan reiterated accusations that his opponents had colluded with the United States to overthrow him on his foreign policy choices, which often appeared to favor China and Russia and defy the United States. Hahn said Washington opposed his February 24 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, hours after the tank invasion of Ukraine, launching a devastating war in the heart of Europe. Ahead of the vote, lawmakers addressed parliament to express outrage at a letter Khan sent to an unnamed senior US official who informed top Pakistani diplomats that Washington’s relations with Pakistan would improve. if Khan is overthrown. Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said the note was called Khan and said that if he was out of power “everything will be forgiven”. He went on to ask: “Forgive me for what? What is our sin? The US State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistan’s domestic policy. State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters Friday that “there is absolutely no truth to these allegations.” However, Kahn urged his supporters to take to the streets, especially the youth who have been the backbone of his support since the former cricket star became a conservative Islamist politician in power in 2018. He said they should protect Pakistan’s sovereignty. and oppose US dictates. “You have to go out to protect your future. It is you who must protect your democracy, sovereignty and independence. “This is your duty,” he said. “I will not accept an imposed government.” Kahn’s allegations of US involvement are likely to resonate with many in Pakistan, said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Washington-based Asia Program at the Wilson Center. “Khan’s allegations of conspiracy will resonate in a country where there is a tendency for the worst possible motives in US politics, especially since there is a history of US involvement in Pakistani politics,” Kugelman said. Khan’s insistence that there is US involvement in overthrowing him also exploits a deep-rooted mistrust among many in Pakistan about US intentions, especially after 9/11. Washington has often criticized Pakistan for doing too little to fight Islamist militants, even though thousands of Pakistanis have died at their hands and the military has lost more than 5,000 troops. Pakistan has come under fire for helping Afghan Taliban insurgents and has been asked to bring them to the peace table. The loss of the impeachment vote for Khan brings some unlikely partners to power. Among them is a radically religious party that runs many religious schools. Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam, or Assembly of Clergy, teaches a deeply conservative sign of Islam in its schools. Many of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the domestic violent Taliban in Pakistan itself have graduated from JUI schools. The largest opposition parties – the People’s Party of Pakistan, led by the son of ousted former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Muslim League of Pakistan – have been plagued by allegations of widespread corruption. The leader of the Muslim League of Pakistan and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been convicted of corruption after being named the so-called Panama Papers. This is a collection of leaked financial documents that show how some of the richest people in the world are hiding their money and a global Panama-based law firm is involved. Sharif has been barred from holding office by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The new prime minister is expected to be Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, following the vote on the new prime minister in parliament on Monday. “This will be the first time in Pakistan’s history that a vote of no confidence succeeds in overthrowing a prime minister – the fulfillment of a constitutional process that was not at all guaranteed after Khan’s attempts to derail the vote,” said Elizabeth Threlkeld, an expert on Pakistan. at The Stimson Center based in the USA. “This, in itself, is important and could give Pakistan something to build on in the future.”
Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. Follow Kathy Gannon on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Kathygannon
title: “Pakistan S Embattled Pm Ousted In No Confidence Vote " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Daniel Moscoso”
The opposition, which spans the political spectrum from left to religious radicals, will form a new government. The leader of one of the largest parties, the brother of disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, is likely to take over as prime minister if confirmed in a vote Monday. Anticipating his loss, Khan, who accused the opposition of plotting with the United States to overthrow him, called on his supporters to hold rallies across the country on Sunday. However, Khan’s options are limited. If it sees a strong turnout in its support, it could try to maintain the momentum of street protests as a way to push Parliament to hold early elections. Kahn had earlier tried to bypass the vote by dissolving parliament and calling early elections, but a Supreme Court ruling ordered the vote to take place. The vote comes amid strained relations between Khan and the powerful Pakistani military, which many of his political opponents claim helped him come to power in the 2018 general election. The military directly rules Pakistan for more than half of 75 years old and holds significant power of political governments. Seeking to overthrow Khan, the opposition had accused him of financial mismanagement as inflation soared and the Pakistani rupee plummeted in value. The vote limits months of political unrest and a constitutional crisis that required the Supreme Court to intervene. In a passionate speech Friday, Khan reiterated accusations that his opponents had colluded with the United States to overthrow him on his foreign policy choices, which often appeared to favor China and Russia and defy the United States. Khan said Washington opposed his February 24 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. The meeting took place a few hours after Russian tanks entered Ukraine, starting a devastating war in the heart of Europe. Ahead of the vote, a member of Khan’s cabinet referred to Khan’s earlier claim that Pakistani diplomats in Washington had been informed by a senior US official that relations would improve if Khan was ousted. Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari told parliament that the US official’s alleged note said “everything would be forgiven” if Khan was out of power. He went on to ask: “Forgive me for what? What is our sin? The US State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistan’s domestic policy. State Department Deputy Spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters Friday that “there is absolutely no truth to these allegations.” However, Kahn urged his supporters to take to the streets, especially the youth who have been the backbone of his support since the former cricket star became a conservative Islamist politician in power in 2018. He said they should protect Pakistan’s sovereignty. and oppose the alleged US dictates. “You have to go out to protect your future. It is you who must protect your democracy, sovereignty and independence. “This is your duty,” he said. “I will not accept an imposed government.” Kahn’s allegations of US involvement are likely to resonate with many in Pakistan, said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Washington-based Asia Program at the Wilson Center. “Khan’s allegations of conspiracy will resonate in a country where there is a tendency for the worst possible motives in US politics, especially since there is a history of US involvement in Pakistani politics,” Kugelman said. Khan’s allegations of US involvement in efforts to overthrow him also exploit a deep-rooted mistrust among many in Pakistan about US intentions, especially after 9/11. Washington has often criticized Pakistan for doing too little to fight Islamist militants, even though thousands of Pakistanis have died at their hands and the military has lost more than 5,000 troops. Pakistan has been accused of helping the Afghan Taliban insurgents and has been asked to bring them to the peace table. The loss of the impeachment vote for Khan brings some unlikely partners to power. Among them is a radically religious party that runs many religious schools. Jamiat-e-Ulema-Islam, or Assembly of Clergy, teaches a deeply conservative sign of Islam in its schools. Many of the Taliban in Afghanistan and the domestic violent Taliban in Pakistan itself have graduated from JUI schools. The largest opposition parties – the People’s Party of Pakistan, led by the son of ousted former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Muslim League of Pakistan – have been plagued by allegations of widespread corruption. The leader of the Muslim League of Pakistan and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been convicted of corruption after being named the so-called Panama Papers. This is a collection of leaked financial documents that show how some of the richest people in the world are hiding their money and a global Panama-based law firm is involved. Sharif has been barred from holding office by the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The new prime minister is expected to be Sharif’s brother, Shahbaz Sharif, following the vote on the new prime minister in parliament on Monday. “This will be the first time in Pakistan’s history that a vote of no confidence succeeds in overthrowing a prime minister – the fulfillment of a constitutional process that was not at all guaranteed after Khan’s attempts to derail the vote,” said Elizabeth Threlkeld, an expert on Pakistan. at The Stimson Center based in the USA. “This, in itself, is important and could give Pakistan something to build on in the future.”
Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report. Follow Kathy Gannon on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Kathygannon
