Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk
KABUL: Pakistan’s political turmoil grew up on Sunday when Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan refrained from an attempt to oust him and sought fresh elections after dissolving parliament, a move the opposition called treasonously and vowed to fight.
The deputy speaker of parliament, a member of Khan’s party, blocked an opposition no-confidence motion that Khan had widely been expected to lose, ruling it was part of a foreign conspiracy and unconstitutional.
Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif called the blocking of the vote “nothing short of high treason” and said on Twitter there would be consequences for “blatant & brazen violation of the Constitution.” He added he hoped the Supreme Court would uphold the Constitution.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, head of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, promised a sit-in at parliament and told reporters, “We are also moving to the Supreme Court today.”
The Supreme Court’s chief justice said on Sunday evening that the court would hear the matter on Monday and that any directions given by the president and prime minister would be subject to the court’s orders.
The opposition blames Khan for failing to revive the economy and crackdown on corruption. Khan has said, without showing evidence, that the move to oust him was orchestrated by the United States, a claim Washington denies.
