'Will play till the last ball,' says Pakistan PM Imran Khan as SC orders no-trust vote against him on 9 April

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday vowed to “play till the last ball” as Supreme Court ordered that a no-confidence vote take place against him at 10 am local time on 9 April. The apex court set aside the National Assembly deputy speaker’s ruling to dismiss the no-confidence motion against the PM. The court also restored the parliament. In a tweet, Khan said that he will hold a cabinet meeting and will also address the nation on Friday.

Earlier, Law minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the SC verdict has “loopholes”, SAMAA News reported. He also called for a probe into the “foreign threat” letter that Imran Khan had claimed to receive.

A five-judge bench on Thursday unanimously voted against the dissolution of the National Assembly by President Arif Alvi at the behest of Khan who called for early polls.

“The deputy speaker gave a ruling on 3 April. Leave was granted on the no-confidence motion on 28 March. The ruling of the speaker is declared unconstitutional,” Dawn quoted Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial as saying. The apex court added that Alvi’s decision to dissolve the Assembly was “illegal.”

It noted that by asking the president to do so PM Imran Khan violated Article 58 of the Constitution. Under Article 58, the National Assembly cannot be dissolved if there is a no-trust vote against the government, NDTV reported.

The petition challenging the dismissal was filed by the joint Opposition on 3 April.

‘Democracy is the best revenge’: Opposition celebrates

Reacting to the verdict, PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said “Democracy is the best revenge.”

The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Shehbaz Sharif who is also tipped to become the next PM of the country called it a victory for the people of Pakistan.

Former PM Nawaz Sharif who is currently undergoing medical treatment in London said, “people have gotten rid of the person who made commoners starve.”  

PML-N leader Maryam Nawaz Sharif shared a picture of her father Nawaz Sharif watching the news as the verdict was declared. She also congratulated Pakistan for “getting rid of the enemy of  people.”

No-trust vote against Khan On 3 April, the joint Opposition tabled a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the 342-member National Assembly, saying that his government was responsible for the “current economic crisis in the country.” Several lawmakers of the ruling PTI switched camps ahead of the voting day, leaving Khan with little support to survive the motion. However, on D-Day, the deputy speaker of Assembly Qasim Khan Suri dismissed the motion against Khan who came to power in 2018. Politics in Pakistan is heavily dominated by the army and has remained mostly unstable. No Pakistani PM has been able to complete a full five-year term in office. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .