Pakistan PM Imran Khan wins vote of confidence

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan won a vote of confidence from parliament on Saturday.

Khan secured 178 votes, against the 172 required to win, local news agencies reported.

The session for a vote of confidence was held without the 160 opposition of Pakistan National Assembly members who announced the day before plans to boycott the session.

Pakistan’s Geo News agency reported that Khan announced he will seek a vote of confidence from parliament after the government nominee Abdul Hafeez Sheikh lost to the opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gillani in the Senate race for the Islamabad general seat.

Addressing parliament on Saturday, Khan stated after securing the victory vote: “When you come out of a difficult time, you get stronger.”

Dawn News reported that dozens of Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters had gathered outside the Parliament building, holding up banners and chanting slogans in support of Khan.

Meanwhile, a number of opposition members held a press conference to criticize Khan’s move for a confidence vote.

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, stated that Imran Khan did not have the power to go for a trust vote according to the Constitution.

Abbasi added this power rested with the president only if he believed the Prime Minister had lost the confidence of the legislature.