Pakistan President Arif Alvi has dissolved the National Assembly on the advice of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Addressing the nation after the no-confidence motion was dismissed in Parliament, Khan said: “I call upon the people of Pakistan to prepare for elections.”
Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri refused to hold a vote on the motion, which Khan was expected to lose, calling it “unconstitutional”.
Suri was in chair after the Opposition submitted a no-confidence motion against the Speaker Asad Qaiser just hours before the voting was to take place.
— Dr. Shahbaz GiLL (@SHABAZGIL) April 3, 2022
Pakistan People’s Party chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the united Opposition will stage a dharna in the assembly, accusing the government of violating the constitution. He added that their lawyers were on their way to the Supreme Court.
Meanwhile, Section 144, prohibiting large gatherings, has been imposed in the capital Islamabad. The district administration has banned pillion riding in the city. According to sources accessed by Geo News, violence is likely in and around Parliament today, with PTI members planning to bring its protesters right up to the main gate of Parliament House, despite clear directives from the Supreme Court, which had banned all types of gatherings inside the high-security Red Zone. PTI members may stop the Opposition from entering the Lower House.
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