So much for Prime Minister Imran Khan’s “New Pakistan.” Faced with growing discontent among his own lawmakers and allies, Khan told the president to dissolve parliament and called for fresh elections after a hotly anticipated no confidence vote against him was abruptly canceled Sunday.
“Prepare for elections,” Khan said in a televised speech to the nation. “No corrupt forces will decide what the future of the country will be,” he said, repeating the allegation that the U.S. is working with his rivals to overthrow the government.
Drawing outrage from the opposition, which says it has the numbers to force him from office and take power, his move is now expected to be tested in Supreme Court. Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif warned that Khan would be charged with treason for violating the constitution. It’s a well trodden path in Pakistan, where high treason — and the death penalty that comes with it — has been used against former military leader and president Pervez Musharraf (he lives in Dubai and has managed to escape the verdict handed down in 2019 that sentenced him to death).
