Khan made a last-ditch effort to seize power, producing a document that he said proved US officials had conspired against him in collusion with his lawmakers. In the end, 174 members voted in favor of Khan’s removal, two more than required. Khan has struggled for months to control Pakistan’s rampant inflation, foreign debt and other economic woes. While many of his promised reforms and political projects perished, he retained loyal followers, especially among young Pakistanis. However, he rejected advice from military leaders and lost allies to the opposition, which was slowly gaining enough support to challenge his ability to hold the post. Shortly before midnight on Saturday, the acting speaker of parliament, Ayaz Sadiq, said the vote would determine whether Khan “no longer enjoys the confidence of the assembly and will cease to function”. Lawmakers were asked to move to each side of the chamber and everyone signed a register to vote. The result was announced shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday in Islamabad. Khan, 69, was expected to lose the vote after a week of drama in which he struggled to stay in power by dissolving the legislature and arranging to cancel the vote on the grounds that it was based on an illegal foreign conspiracy. On Wednesday, Pakistan’s supreme court ordered the vote to take place as scheduled, and Khan promised to respect their decision the next day. But by Saturday afternoon, as pro-government lawmakers struggled for hours, it became clear that something had changed. The assembly took a long break until the evening, while Hahn spoke at a charity event and then held a closed-door cabinet meeting. According to the state television news channel, Khan left the meeting and informed a group of journalists that he “would not accept a new government coming from abroad” and planned to show the “foreign conspiracy” document to the judges of the Supreme Court and other senior executives. Shortly after 10pm, Pakistani news outlets reported that the Supreme Court would open at midnight to deal with the growing crisis. Police and paramilitary guards were deployed around the courts and throughout the capital. The FBI also issued a high-level alert at all airports, saying no Pakistani officials could leave the country without special permission. Shortly before midnight, the speaker of the National Assembly, Asad Qaiser, announced that he had resigned in support of Khan and called on all Pakistanis to “defend their country”. Kaiser said he made the decision after showing him the secret diplomatic document. But Sadiq quickly replaced him and announced that voting would begin. By 1:30 a.m., the fighting prime minister had left office. A naughty politician who took office in 2018 promising to end corruption and build an equal “new Pakistan”, Khan faced an almost certain loss of power as a majority of 342 lawmakers opposed a coalition of opposition parties and backed by the Khan Justice Movement in Pakistan. Opposition leader Sehbaz Sharif, a 70-year-old veteran politician who leads the Pakistan Muslim League’s party and has led the ruling opposition campaign, is expected to replace him until new elections are held in the coming months. Khan, a charismatic former cricket star, initially inspired millions of voters with his anti-establishment rhetoric and vision of building a “new Pakistan” – an Islamic welfare state based on opportunity, justice and independence for the poor nation. with 220 million Muslims. .
