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Pakistan seems headed toward a deepening political crisis
Marvin G. Weinbaum
Director, Afghanistan and Pakistan Studies
On the cusp of a parliamentary no-confidence vote expected to cast him from office, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan sought to outmaneuver his political party opponents. In a controversial action urged by a federal minister, the National Assembly deputy speaker dismissed the pending vote as unconstitutional. Then Khan, acting on his constitutional prerogative, requested the country’s president to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new national and provincial elections. Whether a prime minister has the right to seek dissolution of the federal and provincial assemblies while there is a pending motion for a no-confidence vote is debatable. Still more controversial is the deputy speaker’s power to decide on a question of constitutionality and specifically the applicability of the constitution’s provision that “no foreign power shall be allowed to topple an elected government through a conspiracy.” Pakistan’s Supreme Court has taken note of the controversy, agreed to hear opposing petitions, and called upon the military to ensure public order.
It was during Khan’s recent populist, often demagogic campaign to rally his supporters that he hammered down on the explosive charge that there existed a foreign-directed plot to unseat him. He accused the U.S. in its objection to his independent foreign policy of having colluded with his political...
Read Full Story: https://www.mei.edu/blog/monday-briefing-pakistan-seems-headed-toward-deepening-political-crisis
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