The Opposition parties in Pakistan have nominated Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) as their joint candidate for the country’s Prime Minister’s election, scheduled on Monday, after Imran Khan lost the trust vote and his PM chair, late on Saturday night-Sunday morning. Pakistan’s National Assembly will elect the new Prime Minister. Against him is pitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi from Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Qureshi’s name was forwarded after PTI chairman Imran Khan chaired the first parliamentary board meeting of his party after the Pakistani Parliament ousted him in a vote of no confidence. The nomination papers of both Shehbaz Sharif and Shah Mahmood Qureshi have been approved for Monday’s election. Shehbaz Sharif is most likely to become the next Prime Minister of the country, with the Pakistan People’s Party of Bilawal Zardari Bhutto saying they would support Sharif’s candidature. There is speculation that Bilawal may be named Pakistan’s next foreign minister.
The National Assembly session to elect the new premier will be held at 2 pm Pakistan time on Monday, contrary to a previous schedule of 11 am, ARY News reported. Moreover, strict security measures are still in place around the D-chowk with police saying that the roads leading to Parliament will be opened after the election of the new premier. Imran Khan’s PTI has decided to submit en masse resignations in the National Assembly, Pakistan’s Samaa reported. Former Pakistan Federal Minister Fawad Chaudry said PTI will launch a movement against the new
government.
Also on Monday, Islamabad High Court will hear a petition seeking to include Imran Khan in the exit control list (ECL).
A petition was filed at the Islamabad High Court to include Imran Khan, Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry, and others on the ECL. ECL is an ordinance to provide for the control of the exit of certain persons from Pakistan. The petitioner pleaded to order an investigation into Imran Khan’s allegations regarding the US conspiracy against the PTI government and also requested the court to order a probe into the attempts to damage Pakistan’s image by ending ties with the United States. It sought a trial under the High Treason Act.
Following Imran Khan’s loss in the no-confidence motion, Attorney General (AG) Khalid Jawed Khan and Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Raja Khalid Mehmood Khan announced their resignation. “I have served as the Attorney General for Pakistan since February 2020. For this honour and privilege, I remain profoundly grateful to Prime Minister Imran Khan,” the Tribune Express quoted Khalid Jawed Khan as saying. “I have tried to serve the country to the best of my ability and conscience. I now deem it appropriate to tender my resignation,” Khan added. While talking to a local media outlet, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Raja said that the Constitution had been violated and he could no longer defend the government. He further stated that the no-confidence motion was dealt with in an unconstitutional manner which led to the constitutional crisis in-country.
Meanwhile, in London, confrontation between supporters of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz turned into an arena of slurs and slogans against each party’s leadership outside the Avenfield flats, the residence of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
After the ouster of Imran Khan from the Prime Minister’s seat, outraged workers of PTI on Sunday staged a protest at Nawaz Sharif’s residence. Holding flags of Pakistan, during the demonstrations, PTI workers chanted slogans against the ouster of the PM. Meanwhile, supporters of the PML-N also reached the Avenfield flats to show solidarity with Nawaz Sharif, the party supremo. The police, in order to control the situation between the two groups, reached the Avenfield apartments.
Also on Sunday, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) of the Pakistan Army rejected the contents of a BBC Urdu report which hinted that former Prime Minister Imran Khan had ordered the sacking of the Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa hours before his government was ousted.
The BBC Urdu report, without taking any names directly had hinted that Imran Khan had ordered the sacking of General Bajwa, after which the Army Chief arrived with “another senior official” at the Prime Minister’s House and held a 45-minute meeting. The report gave several other details, including the preparations made by the country’s Ministry of Defence to declare the sacking order null and void, the moment it was notified.
“There is no truth in the fake story whatsoever and clearly seems part of an organised disinformation campaign. The matter is being taken up with BBC authorities,” ISPR said in a statement.
