Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a likely exit but has, once again, pledged to \u201cfight\u201d after his plan to keep the opposition at bay against a no-confidence vote failed.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Pakistan\u2019s Supreme Court ruled that the president\u2019s move to dissolve Parliament on Khan\u2019s recommendation was illegal and ordered the National Assembly to be restored.<\/p>\n
Khan will now face a no-confidence vote by politicians that he tried to avoid after the parliament deputy speaker threw out the no-confidence motion earlier this week.<\/p>\n
The National Assembly is scheduled to meet on Saturday and the opposition looks certain to unseat Khan.<\/p>\n
Khan will have to step down if 172 members of the 342-member house vote against him. The ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party has already lost the majority in parliament. More than 190 legislators voted against Khan in an apparent mock session that was held by the opposition on April 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy message to our nation is I have always and will continue to fight for Pak till the last ball,\u201d the former national cricket team captain on Twitter after the top court\u2019s decision which has been dubbed as \u201chistoric\u201d.<\/p>\n
The embattled leader has summoned a meeting of the federal cabinet as well as of the PTI lawmakers to chalk out a future course of action.<\/p>\n
The PM is also scheduled to address the nation on Friday evening in which, some suggest, he could announce his resignation.<\/p>\n
\u201cKhan can make another dramatic move including en-mass resignations from assemblies,\u201d political analyst Suhail Warraich told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he will wait for the opposition to vote him out.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are signs of another political crisis in the making amid fears that a prolonged impasse could undermine the country\u2019s fragile democracy.<\/p>\n
Senator Faisal Javed Khan of the PTI said PM Khan was going to make an \u201cimportant announcement\u201d in the evening that will turn the opposition\u2019s victory into defeat.<\/p>\n
Professor Tahir Malik, who teaches international relations at a university in the capital Islamabad, told Al Jazeera that \u201cKhan can resign but he should instead play the role of an opposition leader in the parliament\u201d.<\/p>\n
Malik added that Khan was still a popular leader and he [Khan] wanted to go for fresh elections with a narrative that he was a defender of the national interest.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, the Pakistani rupee fell to an all-time low against the US dollar amid the political crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stock market rose by 1.6 percent in early trading on Friday,\u201d Tahir Abbas, head of research at Arif Habib Limited security brokerages, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarkets need clarity on the political front and the Supreme Court decision has provided that,\u201d Abbas said, adding that the rupee had also bounced back in the morning.<\/p>\n
Source: Al Jazeera<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prime Minister Imran Khan faces a likely exit but has, once again, pledged to \u201cfight\u201d after his plan to keep the opposition at bay against a no-confidence vote failed. On Thursday, Pakistan\u2019s Supreme Court ruled that the president\u2019s move to dissolve Parliament on Khan\u2019s recommendation was illegal and ordered the National Assembly to be restored. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":70345,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94395","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\n