London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Oct 26, 2025

Imran Khan ousted as Pakistan's PM after key vote

Imran Khan ousted as Pakistan's PM after key vote

Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan has been ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote in his leadership.

The vote was held past midnight after opposition parties brought a motion against him, which was upheld by the Supreme Court.

Mr Khan had said he would not recognise an opposition government, claiming - without evidence - that there was a US-led conspiracy to remove him.

The assembly will now appoint a new prime minister.

Pakistan's parliament will meet to vote for the country's new leader on Monday.

That person will be able to hold power until October 2023, when the next election is due to be held.

Ayaz Sadiq, who is in charge of the national assembly while there are no ruling party members or designated speakers, said nomination papers for candidates should be filed by 11:00 local time (06:00 GMT) on Sunday.

Mr Khan becomes the first Pakistani prime minister to be ousted by a no-confidence vote.

The Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Mr Khan, 69, had acted unconstitutionally when he blocked the no-confidence vote and dissolved parliament.

This made several opposition members furious, with some accusing the prime minister of treason.

Minutes before the vote started, the speaker of Pakistan's lower house of parliament - an ally of Mr Khan - announced his resignation. Members of Mr Khan's party (PTI) left the building, insisting he was the victim of an international conspiracy.

Opposition parties were able to secure 174 votes in the 342-member house in support of the no-confidence motion, the house speaker said, making it a majority vote.

In a tweet, opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif said Pakistan and its parliament were "finally freed from a serious crisis".

Mr Sharif added: "Congratulations to the Pakistani nation on a new dawn."

Meanwhile, PTI senator Faisal Javed Khan said the 69-year-old walked out of his prime ministerial residence "gracefully and he didn't bow down".

The senator went on to say that Mr Khan had "lifted the entire nation".

The former captain of Pakistan's national cricket team was elected prime minister in 2018, and promised to fight corruption and fix the economy.

But those pledges have gone unmet with the country gripped by a financial crisis.

In late March a series of defections deprived him of his majority and left him fighting for his political career.

The BBC's Secunder Kermani says Mr Khan is widely regarded as having come to power with the help of Pakistan's army, but now observers say they have fallen out.

Mr Khan has repeatedly said that Pakistan's opposition parties are working with foreign powers. He also claims that he is the target of a US-led conspiracy to remove him because of his refusal to stand with Washington on issues against Russia and China.

The US has said there was "no truth" in these allegations, and Mr Khan has never provided any evidence.

He visited Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin as Russia was launching the invasion of Ukraine and has previously criticised what the Bush administration called the war on terror.

Saturday's vote came after opposition lawmakers put forward a no-confidence motion to parliament last Sunday, in a bid to oust Mr Khan from power.

But parliament's deputy speaker Qasim Suri - a member of Mr Khan's political party - swiftly blocked the vote, saying it showed "foreign interference". Mr Suri also said that it went against the constitution, which calls for loyalty to the state.

Mr Khan's government went on to dissolve parliament and called for a snap election to be held. This angered several opposition members, with some accusing the prime minister of treason for blocking the vote.

Opposition figures submitted a petition to the Supreme Court to assess the situation.

On Thursday, Pakistan's top court ruled that Mr Khan's decision to stop the vote from going ahead was unconstitutional. It ordered that the no-confidence vote should go ahead again.

However an impasse over the vote continued well into Saturday evening, prompting the speaker of the lower house of parliament - Asad Qaiser, an ally of Mr Khan - to resign.


Five things to know about Imran Khan (from 2018)


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
×