In a major blow to Prime Minister Imran Khan political survival, Pakistan’s Supreme Court denied Khan’s effort to dissolve the nation’s Parliament, allowing the body to proceed with a “no confidence” vote that will lead to a round of elections that would end Khan’s term, Reuters reports.
The continuing uncertainty in Pakistani politics has hurt the nation’s economy, with the rupee hitting all-time lows this week. The nation of 220 million people will undertake parliamentary elections to determine its new leader in the coming weeks. The person who appointed Prime Minister would then serve the remainder of the term, until August 2023.
A former cricket star who led the nation to a world championship in 1992, the 69-year-old Khan had his deputy dissolve the lower chamber of the parliament in an attempt to avoid a “no confidence vote,” a move the court determined was unconstitutional. Khan has said his ouster is the result of a US-led conspiracy to get rid of him as he has pushed the nation to closer relations with Russia and China.