The political crisis in Pakistan seems to be worsening with every passing day. With the Supreme Court of Pakistan taking its time to pass the verdict on the case concerning the dissolution of the national assembly and the rejection of the no-confidence motion, the tussle for power is only growing larger.
ALSO READ | Imran Khan denotified as Pakistan PM, here’s how a caretaker prime minister will be chosen
POLITICAL CRISIS IN PAKISTAN: RECAP
March 28: A no-trust motion is tabled against Prime Minister Imran Khan in the 342-seat Pakistan National Assembly. The motion is introduced by PML-N president and Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif with the support of 160 other MPs.
March 31: Discussion on the no-confidence (no-trust) motion begins at 5 pm.
April 3: Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejects the no-trust vote, citing Article 5 of Pakistan’s Constitution. Minutes later, President Arif Alvi dissolves the National Assembly after PM Imran Khan alleges a ‘foreign conspiracy’ to overthrow his government. Later in the day, the President denotifies Imran Khan as the PM. However, he says that Imran Khan would carry on his responsibilities till a caretaker PM is appointed.
ALSO READ | Imran Khan is a celebrity diva who only listens to flattery, says ex-wife Reham Khan
April 4: Supreme Court of Pakistan takes suo motu cognizance of the political crisis in the nation and begins hearing the case against the rejection of the no-trust vote and the dissolution of the assembly. The verdict is yet to be delivered. Imran Khan nominates former Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed as caretaker Prime Minister. However, the nomination is yet to be approved in the assembly as it was dissolved.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN PAKISTAN
1. Dubbing Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan’s claim that the US is looking to overturn his government as “concocted”, a former top Trump administration official said on Wednesday that the country is entering a period of political uncertainty. Imran Khan had earlier claimed that Donald Lu, the top American official dealing with South Asia in the US State Department, was involved in the alleged conspiracy to topple his government.
2. President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) Shehbaz Sharif has rejected Gulzar Ahmed’s name for the interim Prime Minister as recommended by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
ALSO READ | What just happened in Pakistan? What next for Imran Khan?
3. President Arif Alvi has asked the Election Commission of Pakistan to propose dates for holding general elections within 90 days from the date of the dissolution of the National Assembly, in accordance with the provisions of the constitution.
4. Pakistan’s largest provincial assembly in Punjab was sealed by the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government on Wednesday hours before the election of the new chief minister, barring Opposition lawmakers from entering the premises to take part in voting.
5. Imran Khan on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court to set up a ‘Memogate-style’ judicial commission to probe an alleged “foreign conspiracy” to topple his democratically-elected government. The ‘Memogate’ involved Pakistan’s then-ambassador to the US, Hussain Haqqani, who was alleged to have written an unsigned letter to a high-ranking American official in May 2011, exposing serious rifts between the then Pakistan Peoples Party-led government and the powerful Army.