Dutch politician Geert Wilders hails Imran Khan's ouster; 'enemy of democracy, India'

Dutch politician and founder of Party for Freedom Geert Wilders on Sunday weighed in on the ouster of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan from office calling him an 'Islamic extremist' and a 'supporter of terror'. Imran Khan was ousted on Sunday after losing the no-confidence motion in the Pakistan National Assembly. 

Welcoming the no-trust verdict on Twitter, Wilders opined that it was 'good' that Imran Khan had been removed from office. Further, he dubbed the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader an 'enemy of freedom, democracy, and India'. 

Imran Khan loses no-trust vote in dramatic midnight session

After a series of twists and turns and a midnight session, the Pakistan National Assembly passed the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the wee hours of Sunday. 174 MNAs recorded their vote in favor of the motion, crossing the majority mark in the 342-member assembly.

The development followed high octane drama in the assembly and in Islamabad throughout the course of the day. The session which was convened following a landmark Supreme Court order against the ruling PTI government, was set to vote on the no-trust motion at 10.30 AM, but members of the House were allowed to speak at great lengths with the speaker Asad Qaiser, adjourning the House at frequent intervals. Ultimately, Qaiser refused to hold the no-trust vote against Imran Khan altogether, saying that he cannot 'betray' him, invoking the fury of the Opposition, which accused him of 'contempt'.

A seeming intervention was carried out by Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) General Nadeem Anjum, and other senior military officials who reached the Prime Minister's House to meet him. Thereafter, a session was called late at night where Qaiser and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Qasim Suri were made to tender their resignation. 

The Pakistan Parliament will now elect its new leader on April 11. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has been formally nominated as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the Joint Opposition.