Pakistan’s PM seeks elections after surviving ouster move

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan sought fresh elections on Sunday after surviving a move to oust him.

While his fate was not immediately clear a member of his political party blocked a no-confidence motion as unconstitutional.

President Arif Alvi approved the request to dissolve parliament and Khan called on the nation to prepare for fresh elections. But the opposition vowed to challenge the block on their vote to oust Khan, which many had expected him to lose, Reuters reported.

Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, the front-runner to replace Khan if he was removed, called the parliamentary block “nothing short of high treason”.

“There will be consequences for blatant & brazen violation of the Constitution,” Sharif said on Twitter, saying he hoped the Supreme Court would play a role to uphold the Constitution.

The opposition blames Khan for failing to revive the economy and crack down on corruption. He has said, without citing evidence, that the move to oust him was orchestrated by the United States, a claim Washington denies.

On the streets of the capital Islamabad, there was a heavy police and paramilitary presence, with shipping containers used to block off roads, according to a Reuters witness.

Police were seen detaining three supporters of Khan’s ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party outside parliament, but the streets were otherwise calm.