Adding fuel to the existing political turmoil, Pakistani President Dr Arif Alvi announced the dissolution of the National Assembly (NA) at the behest of Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Sunday. The decision came soon after NA’s Deputy Speaker, Qasim Suri, dismissed the no-confidence motion against Khan.
Before the dissolution of the Parliament, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) party had 155 members in the 342-member NA. It had originally formed a majority government with four coalition partners—Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Balochistan Awami Party (BAP), and the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), which respectively had seven, five, five, and three seats. However, after MQM and BAP left the ruling coalition and announced their decision to support the opposition in ousting the PM, Khan’s fate was predicted to be effectively sealed.
In an entirely unexpected turn of events, though, Khan’s close ally and party member Suri rejected the trust vote, citing Article 5 of the Constitution, which states that loyalty to the country is the “basic duty” of all Pakistani citizens.
The President of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, has approved the advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to dissolve the National Assembly under the ArticleWhile talking to his party officials, Prime Minister Imran Khan 58 (1) read with Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) April 3, 2022
Suri’s decision was announced right after Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry’s address to the Parliament, wherein he called upon President Alvi to dismiss the trust vote, saying that a foreign country had threatened to sever relations with Pakistan if the no-confidence motion failed in the NA. He claimed, “We were told that if the motion fails, then Pakistan’s path would be very difficult. This is an operation for a regime change by a foreign government.”
Several senior officials from PTI, including Khan, have repeatedly cited a “threat letter,” which they say proved that the attempt to oust him was a part of a “foreign-funded conspiracy.” This claim has also been supported by the country’s National Security Committee (NSC). However, an undisclosed senior government official has told The News International that the letter was not a direct message from high-ranking American officials, but rather a diplomatic cable sent by Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US, Asad Majeed Khan, to Islamabad on March 7.
Nevertheless, Suri accepted Chaudhry’s argument as “valid” and regretted the alleged foreign conspiracy behind the trust vote. “No foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected government through a conspiracy,” he declared while declaring the dissolution of the Parliament.
Just after the motion was dismissed on Sunday, Khan gave a surprise address to the nation wherein he called for fresh elections. He applauded the Deputy Speaker’s decision to reject the “foreign conspiracy” and its attempt to destabilise the government. He also reiterated his claim that “billions of rupees” had been spent to “buy” members of the NA to ensure his removal. “Prepare for elections,” he announced.
وزیراعظم عمران خان کا قوم سے اہم خطاب : pic.twitter.com/tj8AStCDEf
— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) April 3, 2022
Upon the NA’s dissolution, the Cabinet Division declared that Khan will cease to hold his position as PM “with immediate effect.” But, soon after, Alvi declared that PM Khan will continue to hold his position until the appointment of a caretaker PM. However, it is unclear how the caretaker PM will be appointed, given that the NA has now been dissolved.
Mr. Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi, shall continue as Prime Minister till the appointment of caretaker Prime Minister under Article 224 A (4) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
— The President of Pakistan (@PresOfPakistan) April 3, 2022
Later on Sunday, Khan also held a meeting with his party officials during which he reiterated the claim of the trust vote being a “foreign-funded conspiracy.” After weeks of speculation, he finally revealed that the United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu was the foreign official behind the alleged conspiracy. “I’m taking the name of [the] US, the conspiracy has been hatched with the help of America to remove me,” he added.
He said that the NSC had concluded that the no-confidence motion was being sponsored by a foreign nation after inspecting the details of a meeting between Ambassador Asad Majeed and Lu. “When the country’s highest security body confirms it then the NA proceedings and the number of [MNAs] there was irrelevant,” he added.
However, the US has categorically rejected Khan’s allegations. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price stressed last week that there is “no truth” to Khan’s claims, before adding: “We are closely following developments in Pakistan. We respect, we support Pakistan’s constitutional process and the rule of law”
Pakistan Trust Vote Coverage:
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan Loses Majority Just Days Before Trust Vote as MQM-P Severs Ties
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan Insists on Foreign Conspiracy With Alleged Threat Letter
- Pakistan PM Khan Succumbs to Pressure From Within Coalition, Ousts Punjab CM Buzdar
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan Claims “Foreign Money” Fuelling Opposition’s Goal of Toppling Gov’t
- Pakistan Interior Minister Warns PTI “Turncoats” of Early Elections Ahead of Trust Vote
- Pakistan Army Chief Bajwa Reportedly Asks PM Imran Khan to Resign After OIC Conference
- Embattled Pakistan PM Imran Khan Calls Army “Animals” for ‘Neutral’ Stance on Trust Vote
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan Scrambles For Support as Opposition Submits No-Confidence Motion
- Pakistani PM Imran Khan Warns Opposition of Consequences of Failed No-Trust Vote
Khan has also been angered by the Army’s decision to adopt a “neutral” stand on the issue, which he argues has given support to the illicit motives of the opposition and foreign conspirators. Despite pressure from Khan, however, the director-general of the Inter-Services Public Relations Babar Iftikhan, has maintained that “[the] Army has nothing to do with the political process.”
In fact, the army and Khan have also taken notably divergent stances on the Russia-Ukraine war and alleged US interference in Pakistan. In an address to the Islamabad Security Dialogue of the weekend, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa said Russia’s “aggression against a smaller country cannot be condoned,” and expressed his regret over an invasion that he claimed has destroyed “half of Ukraine.”
Crucially, in an effort to protect fraying ties with the US and undo any damage Khan might have done to bilateral ties over the past few weeks, Bajwa said Pakistan shares a “long and excellent strategic relationship with the US, which remains our largest export market.”
Pakistan Army spokesman @OfficialDGISPR tells @geonews_urdu that Pakistan Army has nothing to do with what happened in the Parliament.
— Murtaza Ali Shah (@MurtazaViews) April 3, 2022
"Absolutely Not," says General Babar Iftikhar about Pakistan's constitutional crisis. pic.twitter.com/phhKv660GI
Meanwhile, the constitutionality of Alvi’s announcement has been questioned by the opposition, who have argued that according to Article 58 of the Constitution, the NA cannot be dissolved if there is a pending no-confidence motion against the PM. To this end, the opposition has vowed to challenge the legality of Suri’s decision to dismiss the trust vote before the Supreme Court (SC). On Monday, the SC is scheduled to take up the matter and decide whether or not the trust vote will be conducted before the elections. If the SC decides to go ahead with early elections, they will have to be conducted within 90 days of the Assembly’s dissolution.