Imran Khan says he accepts court verdict that ordered vote to oust him

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday (April 08) he accepted a verdict from the country’s Supreme Court, that ordered parliament proceed with a no-confidence vote against him.

The country’s top court ruled late on Thursday (April 07) that Khan must face the no-confidence vote, which he is widely expected to lose, meaning he would be ousted from office.

Khan said in an address to the nation he was disappointed but ultimately accepted the decision of the court, after he blocked the vote and dissolved parliament last week.

Khan also he would not recognise an opposition government if it succeeded in an attempt to oust him, the latest twist in a political crisis engulfing the nuclear-armed nation.

“I will not accept an imported government,” he said in a late-night address, suggesting the move to oust him was part of a foreign conspiracy and calling for peaceful protests on Sunday.”

The country’s parliament will convene on Saturday to vote on Khan as prime minister, an official notice said on Friday, potentially cutting short his term as leader.

A session of the lower house of parliament has been called for 10:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) on Saturday, the speaker’s office said in an order paper. The vote, brought by the opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, is the fourth point on the agenda.

A former cricket star who took office in 2018, Khan said he was disappointed but accepted the Supreme Court ruling that he had acted unconstitutionally in blocking the no-confidence vote when it was due to take place last Sunday, after which he dissolved parliament and called an election.

The crisis has threatened political and economic stability in the country of 220 million people, where the military has ruled for half its history.

Khan, who opposed the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan and has developed relations with Russia since becoming prime minister, has accused the United States of supporting a plot to oust him. Washington has dismissed the accusation.

If he loses the no-confidence vote, the opposition will put forward a candidate for prime minister.

Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said after the court ruling that the opposition had nominated him to take over should Khan be ousted.

The opposition has said it wants early elections but only after delivering Khan a political defeat and passing legislation that it says is needed to ensure the next polls are free and fair.

The election commission has said the earliest it can hold elections is in October, which means any new government will have to deal with pressing economic issues before that.