Finally, the key ruling coalition ally Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has officially announced to leave the sinking ship of Pakistani prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday. Two ministers of the party, which was formed to safeguard the interests of Indian migrants to Pakistan after partition, have resigned from Imran Khan’s cabinet.
With the MQM-P’s Rabita Committee endorsing the agreement signed with the combined opposition as part of a deal to support the no-trust motion, the Imran Khan led government is already in minority now.
The agreement between the combined opposition and MQM consists of 27 points which have been signed by all the top leadership of both the sides.
With the announcement of the MQM-P joining the opposition, PM Imran Khan lost the majority in the National Assembly as the number of combined opposition in the Assembly reached 177 – five more than the required magic number of 172 that are required. Khan is left with 164 members in the house of 372 members. That number could go down further as the number of deserters from his party continue to mount.
. @CMShehbaz hopes against the hope that @ImranKhanPTI will now resign as #PrimeMinister as he has lost majority in the #parliament . pic.twitter.com/TVNDhKricZ
— Azaz Syed (@AzazSyed) March 30, 2022
Over a dozen dissident parliamentarians of Khan’s ruling party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have already come into the open criticising the Prime Minister. They have made it clear that they will support the opposition’s no-trust motion even at the cost of being disqualified under the country's anti-defection rules.
Speculations are rife in Pakistan that the Prime Minister may resign today with his cabinet, as signalled by Khan’s Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid. Rashid told the media that PM Khan will address the nation on Wednesday evening after an emergency meeting of his cabinet.
“Will this be the swan song of Imran Khan as the prime minister of Pakistan?” Pakistani analysts are speculating as to what will be the purpose of the no-confidence vote if Khan’s government is in minority. He has also asked ruling party members to "abstain from voting/not attending the meeting of the National Assembly on the date when the said resolution is set out on the agenda for voting.”
Earlier Khan had announced that he would like to share the “secret” letter with a few “neutral” journalists at his residence on Wednesday to convince them how he was a victim of conspiracy hatched by the US and other countries, and not because of his limitations in governing Pakistan.
On March 27, in a rally in Islamabad, Khan flashed a letter before the public, saying that he has "written evidence" that "money has been pouring in from abroad," while "some of our people are being used to topple the government."
Also Read: Pak PM Imran Khan’s exit becoming inevitable as his government loses majority in Parliament
