In Pakistan, President Arif Alvi today dissolved the National Assembly following Prime Minister Imran Khan’s advice.
Imran also advised the President to call for fresh elections. It comes after Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly refused to hold a vote of no-confidence.
Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed the no-trust move against Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it against Article 5 of the Constitution. Suri chaired today’s session after opposition parties filed a no-confidence motion against Speaker Asad Qaiser.
Pak-Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said that loyalty to the state was the basic duty of every citizen under Article 5. He told MPs that Pakistani officials had been told of ‘an operation for a regime change by a foreign government’.
This, he said, went against the Constitution and the Deputy Speaker chairing the session proceeded to declare the vote unconstitutional. Later, in a public address to the nation, Imran Khan told the nation to prepare for elections.
The Opposition has filed a petition to the country’s Supreme Court, which is assessing whether the decision not to allow a vote of no-confidence against the Prime Minister is valid.
The Apex Court has formed a special bench to look into the dissolution of the Assembly. Meanwhile, heavy security has been deployed around government buildings and across the capital, Islamabad.
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