Pakistan: Imran Khan de-notified as Prime Minister

April 3: In a circular issued by the Pakistan Cabinet Division, Imran Khan has been de-notified as the PM of Pakistan. This comes as the President dissolved the National Assembly after it rejected a no-trust move against Khan. “Consequent upon the dissolution of Pakistan Assembly by the President of Pakistan in terms of Article 58(1) read with Article 48(1) of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan vide Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, dated 3rd April 2022, Mr Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ceased to hold the office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with immediate effect,” the government statement read.

In a tweet on Sunday, President of Pakistan wrote, “Mr. Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi, shall continue as Prime Minister till the appointment of caretaker Prime Minister under Article 224 A (4) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.” The dissolution of the Assembly means that the elections will be held within three months to elect the next government. In the history of Pakistan’s politics, no prime minister has completed a full term.

“Prepare for the election!” said Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan today. The preparation for a caretaker government has begun. “The nation should prepare for the new elections,” he said, adding that the no-confidence was actually a “foreign agenda”. Khan congratulated the nation for the no-trust motion being dismissed, saying the deputy speaker had “rejected the attempt of changing the regime [and] the foreign conspiracy”.