Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan today asked the Governor to dissolve the national assembly and announced fresh elections ahead of an expected no-trust motion.
In his address, Imran Khan asked the people of Pakistan to “Get ready for elections”. “The conspiracy to take down this government has collapsed,” he added.
The no-trust motion against Imran Khan was dismissed by the Deputy Speaker, who cited a security threat. Khan, who asked his supporters to hit the streets ahead of the trust vote, addressed the nation soon after.
Khan had earlier refused to resign. He said he would “play till the last ball” and “look the traitors in the eye at the assembly”. But this morning, he skipped the assembly session as his supporters roamed the streets in response to his call for a peaceful protest against what he said was a “conspiracy” hatched outside Pakistan to unseat him.
“I want you all to protest for an independent and free Pakistan,” he said on Saturday during a public question and answer phone-in broadcast by state media.
Earlier this week, Khan accused the US of meddling in Pakistan’s affairs and alleged the opposition was conspiring with Washington to remove him because he won’t take the West’s side on global issues against Russia and China.
With inputs from NDTV