Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan ousted in no-confidence vote

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan  —  Pakistan’s political opposition ousted the country’s prime minister in a no-confidence vote early Sunday, which it won after several of Imran Khan’s allies and a key coalition party deserted him.

The combined opposition that spans the political spectrum from the left to the radically religious right will form the new government, with the head of one of the largest parties, the Pakistani Muslim League, taking over as prime minister.

Anticipating his loss, Khan, who charged that the opposition colluded with the United States to unseat him, has called on his supporters to stage rallies nationwide Sunday. Khan’s options are limited, and should he see a big turnout in his support, he may try to use the momentum of street protests to pressure Parliament to hold early elections.

Khan earlier had tried to sidestep the vote by dissolving Parliament and calling early elections, but a Supreme Court ruling ordered the vote to go ahead.

The vote comes amid cooling relations between Khan and a powerful military, which many of his political opponents allege helped him come to power in general elections in 2018. The military has directly ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 75 years and wields considerable power over civilian governments, who worry a disgruntled army could unseat them.

In calling for Khan’s ouster, the opposition has accused him of economic mismanagement as inflation soars and the Pakistani rupee plummets in value. The vote caps months of political turmoil and a constitutional crisis that required the Supreme Court to sort out.

In an impassioned speech Friday, Khan reiterated his accusations that his opponents colluded with the United States to unseat him over his foreign policy choices, which often seemed to favor China and Russia and defied the U.S.

Khan said Washington opposed his Feb. 24 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin hours after tanks rolled into Ukraine, launching a devastating war.

Ahead of the vote, his lawmakers addressed Parliament to express outrage about a letter Khan said told of a senior U.S. official, who was not named, who informed top Pakistani diplomats that Washington’s relations with Pakistan would improve if Khan were ousted. Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari said the memo named Khan and said that if he were out of power, “all would be forgiven.”

She went on to ask: “Forgiven for what? What is our sin?”

The U.S. State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistan’s internal politics. Deputy State Department spokeswoman Jalina Porter told reporters Friday there was “absolutely no truth to these allegations.”

Meanwhile, Khan urged his supporters to take to the streets, particularly young people who have been the backbone of his support since the former cricket star turned conservative Islamist politician came to power in 2018. He said they needed to protect Pakistan’s sovereignty and oppose U.S. dictations.

“You have to come out to protect your own future. It is you who have to protect your democracy, your sovereignty and your independence. ... This is your duty,” he said. “I will not accept an imposed government.”

Khan’s allegations of U.S. involvement are likely to resonate with many in Pakistan, says Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Program at the Washington -based Wilson Center.

“Khan’s conspiracy allegations will resonate in a country where there’s a tendency to ascribe the worst possible motives to U.S. policy, especially because there is a past history of U.S. meddling in Pakistani politics,” said Kugelman.

Khan’s insistence of U.S. involvement in attempts to oust him also exploits a deep-seated mistrust among many in Pakistan of U.S. intentions, particularly following the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.

Washington has often criticized Pakistan for doing too little to fight Islamic militants, even as thousands of Pakistanis have died at their hands and the army has lost more than 5,000 soldiers. Pakistan has been admonished for aiding Afghanistan’s Taliban insurgents while also being asked to bring them to the peace table.

The no-confidence vote loss for Khan brings to power some unlikely partners.

Among them is a radically religious party that runs scores of religious schools. The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, or Assembly of Clerics, teaches a deeply conservative brand of Islam in its schools. Many members of Afghanistan’s Taliban and Pakistan’s Taliban graduated from JUI schools.

The largest among the opposition parties — the Pakistan People’s Party, led by the son of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Pakistan Muslim League — have been tainted by allegations of widespread corruption.

Pakistan Muslim League leader and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was convicted of corruption after being named in the so-called Panama Papers. That’s a collection of leaked secret financial documents showing how some of the world’s richest hide their money and involving a global law firm based in Panama. Sharif was disqualified by Pakistan’s Supreme Court from holding office. The new prime minister is expected to be Sharif’s brother Shahbaz Sharif, to be decided in a vote in Parliament on Monday.

“This would be the first time in Pakistan’s history that a no-confidence vote succeeds in ousting a prime minister — the fulfilment of a constitutional process that was far from guaranteed after Khan’s attempts to derail the vote,” said Elizabeth Threlkeld, Pakistan expert at the U.S.-based Stimson Center. “That, in itself, is significant, and could give Pakistan something to build on going forward.”