Pakistan's president dissolved the country's parliament on Sunday setting the stage for early elections after the prime minister sidestepped a no-confidence move earlier in the day.
Imran Khan asked President Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly, or law-making lower house of parliament, accusing his political opposition of working with the United States to overthrow his government.
Pakistan's constitution calls for the establishment of an interim government to see the country toward elections, which are to be held within 90 days.
"Now I have advised the president of Pakistan to dissolve the assemblies. In a democratic society, we democrats will go to the people for elections. Elections will be held and the people will decide who they want," Khan said after suriving a move to oust him as prime minister.
Khan's political opponents have called a decision by the parliament's deputy speaker to throw out their no-confidence resolution illegal and vowed to go to the Supreme Court.
The battle between Khan, a cricket star turned conservative Islamic leader, and his political opposition has mired the nation in political turmoil.
'Conspiracy to topple the government'
The latest developments came after Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry accused the opposition of colluding with a "foreign power" to stage a "regime change."
"I ask people to prepare for the next elections. Thank God, a conspiracy to topple the government has failed," Khan said in his address.
The opposition arrived in parliament ready to vote Khan out of power. They needed a simple majority of 172 votes in Pakistan's 342-seat Parliament to unseat Khan, a cricket star turned conservative Islamic politician. Khan's small but key coalition partners along with 17 of his own party members joined the opposition to oust him.
- Pakistan PM Imran Khan suggests he may not accept vote to oust him
The no-confidence vote had been expected some time after parliament convened Sunday but parliamentary rules allow for three to seven days of debate. The opposition said it had the numbers for an immediate vote.
Giant metal containers blocked roads and entrances to the capital's diplomatic enclave and to parliament and other sensitive government installations in the capital. A defiant Khan called for supporters to stage demonstrations countrywide to protest the vote.
Khan claims U.S. interference
Khan has accused the opposition of being in cahoots with the United States to unseat him, saying America wants him gone over his foreign policy choices that often favour China and Russia. Khan has also been a strident opponent of America's war on terror and Pakistan's partnership in that war with Washington.
Khan has circulated a memo which he insists provides proof that Washington conspired with Pakistan's opposition to unseat him because America wants "me, personally, gone … and everything would be forgiven."
A loss for Khan would have given his opponents the opportunity to form a new government and rule until elections, which had been scheduled to be held next year.
Residents of Pakistan's largest province Punjab were set to vote Sunday for a new chief minister. Khan's choice faced a tough challenge and his opponents claimed they had enough votes to install their choice.
With 60 per cent of Pakistan's 220 million people living in Punjab, it is considered the most powerful of the country's four provinces. Also on Sunday the government announced the dismissal of the provincial governor, whose role is largely ceremonial and is chosen by the federal government. But it further deepened the political turmoil in Pakistan.
Pakistan's main opposition parties, whose ideologies span the spectrum from left to right to radically religious, have been rallying for Khan's ouster almost since he was elected in 2018.
Accusations of army's support in 2018 election
Khan's win was mired in controversy amid widespread accusations that Pakistan's powerful army helped his Pakistan Tehreek Insaf (Justice) Party to victory.
Asfandyar Mir, a senior expert with the Waxjmtzywshington-based U.S. Institute of Peace, said the military's involvement in the 2018 polls undermined Khan's legitimacy from the outset.
"The movement against Imran Khan's government is inseparable from his controversial rise to power in the 2018 election, which was manipulated by the army to push Khan over the line," said Mir. "That really undermined the legitimacy of the electoral exercise and created the grounds for the current turmoil. "
Pakistan's military has directly ruled Pakistan for more than half of its 75-year history, overthrowing successive democratically elected governments. For the remainder of that time it has indirectly manipulated elected governments from the sidelines.
The opposition has also accused Khan of economic mismanagement, blaming him for rising prices and high inflation. Still, Khan's government is credited with maintaining a foreign reserve account of $18 billion US and bringing in a record $29 billion US last year from overseas Pakistanis.
