Imran Khan is on his last legs as Prime Minister of Pakistan and is probably a guest for a few days now once again Pakistan Army has asserted its dominance over the country’s politics.
With the departure of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement party from the ruling coalition leaving the PTI-led government as a minority in Parliament, PM Imran Khan is set to lose an opposition no-confidence motion expected to be voted upon on April 3.
Until late in the evening, PM Imran Khan was closeted with aides as rumors flew, he might step down and not face the vote despite the opposition’s demand for the vote of the non-trust motion to be tomorrow.
Amid this uncertainty, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and ISI chief Lt. Gen. Nadeem Anjum paid a visit to President Khan at his home in the evening but PM Imran Khan has canceled any pre-announcement address to the nation and decided to fight till the end.
In Pakistan’s history, not a single Pakistani PM hasn’t completed their tenure of 5 years except 3 Prime ministers who served more than 4 years.
What happens after April 3rd?
If on 3rd April PM Imran Khan loses the vote, parliament can continue to function until its five-year tenure which ends in August 2024 after which a general election is due within 60 days.
There will be a vote in the national assembly to elect a new Prime Minister to serve until then and candidates can be put forward by any party with legislators in the assembly.
The new Prime Minister can however call a general election immediately without waiting until 2024.
Some constitutional analysts say that the assembly can be dissolved and a general election will be held if no candidate can secure a majority of votes to become the Prime Minister.
Who is Shehbaz Sharif?
Born into a Punjabi-speaking Kashmiri family of the Mian clan in Lahore, Shehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif who is a three-time elected Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Shehbaz’s father, Muhammad Sharif was an industrialist whose family emigrated from Anantnag in Kashmir for business and eventually settled in the village of Jati Umra in Amritsar but migrated to Lahore after Partition.
Shehbaz Sharif has served as the Chief Minister of Pakistan’s province Punjab three times (1997, 2008, and 2013) making him the longest-serving CM of Punjab province.
After a military coup deposed the government in 1999, Shehbaz along with his family spent years in self-exile in Saudi Arabia and returned to Pakistan in 2007.
In March 2018, he was elected as the PML-N chief after his brother Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from holding office.
He was nominated as the Leader of the Opposition after the 2018 election and in December 2019, the National Accountability Bureau froze 23 properties belonging to Shehbaz and his son Hamza Sharif accusing them of money laundering.
On 28th September 2020, NAB arrested Shehbaz at Lahore High Court and indicted him on charges of money laundering but was released on bail on 14th April 2021.
But why Shehbaz Gill?
Addressing a press conference ahead of the no-trust vote on April 3, Pakistan People Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari thanked Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for joining hands with the opposition and deciding to support them to oust Imran Khan as the Prime Minister.
It was also announced that Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif would be the next PM after Imran Khan loses the no-confidence vote.
Conclusion
Under PM Imran Khan the GDP shrunk from $315 billion in 2018 to $264 billion in 2020 with flared up inflation of 12.2% in Retail and 23.6% in Wholesale.
Pakistan’s currency was also not exempted from these consequences jumping from 109 in 2018 to 182 as of March 2022.
Imran or no Imran, Pakistan is not easy to govern. It has had 30 Presidents and Prime Ministers, 4 constitutions, a semi-permanent IMF presence, and a permanent army presence.
Published By : VATSAL KOTHA
Edited By : KRITIKA KASHYAP
