Imran Khan ousted: How Pakistan PM lost power and Shehbaz Sharif-led Opposition succeeded

Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician, who started his innings as Prime Minister of Pakistan in 2018 was bowled by the joint Opposition's no-confidence motion. Imran Khan, who had promised 'Naya Pakistan' to the citizens, brought opposition to its knees to complete a simple parliamentary procedure by claiming foreign conspiracy and rejecting the no-trust motion, which was overturned by Supreme Court.

While the no-confidence motion was filed on March 8, the plan to oust Imran Khan was developed in November 2021 when Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart Khursheed Shah claimed that the Opposition has enough support to remove Imran Khan from the chair. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz also hinted that the then incumbent government had lost the majority. Later, a no-trust motion was filed and embattled Imran Khan was ousted from power.

Khan, who emerged as a powerful leader and enjoyed popularity in the masses due to his successful cricketer career, was brought to the top position by the powerful army and intelligence. However, they also led to his downfall.  Khan dreamt of bringing moons to Pakistan but was let down by newcomers and inexperienced politicians. His decision to appoint, Usman Buzdar, as the Chief Minister of Pakistan was also widely ridiculed. 

During Imran's stint as PM, the prices of commodities skyrocketed, Pakistani rupee kept falling against the dollar. Although the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader blamed global conditions, the public resentment against him kept rising. But instead of making a change in the governance system, Khan chose to go after the opposition and blamed them for looting the Islamic country for three decades.

Imran Khan-Army relations corrosion

The problems for the former PM started when the Opposition started blaming the military for the economic crisis by bringing Imran Khan to power. The Army also became increasingly frustrated with Khan for his failure to bring Pakistan back on track.

On October 13, Pakistan media reported that the appointment of Gen Nadeem Ahmed Anjum as the new Director-General of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had sparked tensions between Imran Khan and the influential Army chief Gen. The post of the ISI chief was vacated by Gen Faiz Hameed after he was asked to take charge as the Peshawar Corps Commander in the first week of October. However, following his transfer, decisions regarding the new spy chief reportedly caused friction between Khan and Bajwa. Speculations of dissension between the two sides emerged after sources revealed that the PM had still not issued the notification for Anjum’s appointment, almost a week after his name was finalised.

After the no-confidence motion was announced, Imran Khan ALSO hit out openly at the Pakistan Army on March 10 after the latter gave him a massive jolt by refusing to back his government. Slamming the Pakistan Army's 'neutrality' and their decision to keep away from politics, the country's Prime Minister compared the Pakistan Army to animals in a viral address.

 "Allah didn't allow us to be neutral as only animals are neutral," he said.

Khan repeatedly alleged foreign conspiracy and said that he is the victim of the US' attempt for "regime change:" because of his Moscow visit. On Saturday, the ill-fated day, Khan, tried his best to save his chair by holding meetings with his party members. On the other hand, after debating for more than 12 hours in the National Assembly, in a historic first for Pakistan, ousted Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion. While Imran Khan's time in the power is up, the PTI chief's next move is yet to be seen.