Pakistan's Supreme Court began hearing arguments on Monday over the legality of Prime Minister Imran Khan's call for a new general election after his party blocked a vote of no confidence in him and after he decided to dissolve parliament in a surprise move to prevent his ouster.
This coincides with Khan's statements in which he confirmed that he will "personally" lead night demonstrations for a week against what he described as the "American plot" to overthrow his government, and with his supporters organizing an anti-opposition demonstration in the capital, Islamabad.
Parliament canceled the draft decision to vote no confidence in the Prime Minister, in a surprising move based on Article 5 of the Constitution.
The session’s speaker, Qassem Khan Suri, Deputy Speaker of Parliament, considered that the draft vote of confidence was the result of a conspiracy that would harm the higher national interest, and therefore announced its rejection based on Article Five, which prevents voting on any draft resolution whose motives are not credible.
Subsequently, the country's President Arif Alvi ordered the dissolution of the Federal Parliament, the local parliaments in the regions, and the government, in response to a request from the Prime Minister.
This decision paves the way for early parliamentary elections within 90 days.
The opposition accused the government of bypassing and violating the articles of the constitution by forcing Parliament to cancel a vote of no confidence in the prime minister, and opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif described preventing the vote as "no less than high treason."
President Alawi asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif to nominate Asma to appoint a caretaker prime minister.
night demonstrations
Meanwhile, Khan announced that he would "personally" lead night demonstrations for a week against the "American plot" to overthrow his government, expressing his surprise at the opposition's rejection of the decision to dissolve parliament, considering it conspiring with the outside and fearing early elections, as he put it.
He added, "I will personally lead demonstrations against conspiring agents who are prepared to sell their conscience and receive money from abroad. These traitors have plotted to overthrow my government and they are enemies of democracy, so I invite the people to participate in the demonstrations."
Yesterday, his supporters organized an anti-opposition demonstration in the capital, Islamabad, where hundreds of supporters of Khan's Pakistan PTI party gathered at the entrance to the red zone, where the parliament building, ministries and diplomatic representations are located.
The demonstrators chanted anti-opposition slogans and celebrated the refusal to vote on Khan's no-confidence motion.
It is noteworthy that Imran Khan suggested that the former head of the Constitutional Court, Gulzar Ahmed, take over the position of prime minister for the interim government to lead the country after the dissolution of Parliament, while he will remain - after the end of his official term next Sunday - in his position until the appointment of the prime minister of the interim government.