Imran Khan's govt totters as key ally MQM-P switches sides ahead of no-confidence motion

New Delhi, March 30

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s chances of retaining his government ahead of a no-confidence vote in the first week of April turned slimmer after the ruling coalition’s largest ally, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), made a midnight switch to the combined Opposition which has decided on former PM Nawaz Sharif’s brother Shahbaz as his replacement.

Battered by his party members turning dissidents and a party from Balochistan also casting its lot with the Opposition, Khan sought to combat the latest blow by hinting that his ouster was being masterminded by foreign forces unhappy with Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan.

Khan has been brandishing a cable sent on March 7 by then Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Asad Majeed Khan, which warned of “dire consequences” if he continued to stay in power. Upholding the no-confidence motion as a “democratic” right in a parliamentary democracy, he, however, said the current no-trust move was “funded by foreign powers”. The cable, Khan said, was sent to Islamabad a day before the combined Opposition tabled its no- confidence motion on March 8.

With 172 votes needed for a majority in the Lower House of 342 members, a member of the combined Opposition and the chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, claimed the support of 175 MPs and asked the PM to resign. On paper at least, the MQM-P’s support means the Opposition bloc may have the requisite number of votes to vote out Khan and his government.

His unlikely ally and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari also said the overnight change of stance by the MQM-P meant the PM had lost the majority and should quit. The PM-in-waiting Shahbaz Sharif, whose PML (Nawaz) till recently was perennially at odds with the PPP, also wanted the “selected PM” to resign to set a new tradition.

The Opposition bloc accuses Khan of mismanaging the economy, foreign policy and resorting to heavy-handed measures against critics. No Pakistan Prime Minister has ever served a full five-year term. But no Pakistan PM has ever been ousted by a no-confidence motion either.

Khan though is going to fight till the last ball, said his confidant Sheikh Rashid. The Pakistan PM said foreign powers could not accept a leadership that worked for the people of Pakistan and criticised the US’ War on Terror, saying Pakistan “sacrificed its interest” for foreign powers but they never “valued” its sacrifices. He appealed to his party members and those still supporting his government to either abstain or not turn up to vote on the no-confidence motion.

Khan’s PTI has 155 members and requires 17 more votes to prove its majority. With its own members turning dissidents, observers feel it is a bridge too far for the first-time PM.

Foreign powers to blame, says Imran

Alleging that the no-trust move has been “funded by foreign powers”, Imran Khan has been brandishing a cable sent on March 7 by then Pakistan’s envoy to US Asad Majeed Khan which warned of “dire consequences” if he stayed in power

PTI short of numbers, defections mount

• Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has 155 members and requires 17 more votes to prove majority in 342-member House
• With its own members turning dissidents, observers feel it is tough call for the first-time Prime Minister