Pakistan’s Imran Khan ousted from PM position
Following a parliamentary vote of no confidence last week, Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan has been ousted. The vote came after Pakistan’s opposition parties accused Khan of economic mismanagement, as well as poor governance. The country’s Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that a decision to block the no confidence vote was unconstitutional.
Now, Khan claims that opposition to him is backed by the US. On Friday, Khan addressed the public and claimed the no confidence vote was caused by a “foreign conspiracy” tied with the US. Khan alleged that the US was targeting him because he couldn’t easily be used as a “puppet for the West”. He said he was not anti-American but would not let Pakistan “be used as a tissue paper”.
Last week, after blocking the no confidence vote (the block was overturned on Thursday), Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri reiterated Khan’s claims, saying he had acted to prevent a ‘foreign conspiracy’ to unseat Khan’s regime.
The US State Department hit back at Khan in a statement, saying there is “no truth” to Khan’s allegations.
Khan called for protests against his ousting across Pakistan today. He also called for an early election. Meanwhile, the US State Department says it is closely following the situation in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s opposition has called for Khan’s removal for months, claiming that Khan is economically mismanaging the country. On Thursday, Reuters reported that the Pakistani rupee hit an all-time low. Khan’s government has been grappling with depleting foreign exchange reserves, inflation, and spiking prices in food and fuel.
