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Published 17:45 IST, March 22nd 2022

Pak Army chief Bajwa asks Imran Khan to resign as Pakistan's Prime Minister: Sources

The Pakistan Army's top brass, led by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign after the end of two-day OIC meet.

Reported by: Kamal Joshi
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Imran Khan
Image: PTI | Image: self
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The Pakistan Army's top brass, led by Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has asked Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign after the end of two-day Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting on Wednesday, according to sources.

Pakistan Media reported that the decision to oust Imran Khan was taken by Bajwa and three other senior lieutenant generals after the Pakistani Army chief and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) chief Nadeem Anjum met Imran Khan.

As per reports, all four military leaders determined not to give any escape route to the cricketer-turned-politician.

Amid the looming no-confidence motion against the PTI government, Imran Khan met Army Chief Bajwa on Friday. The meeting reportedly revolved around the recent political developments in the country, with the local media reporting that the agenda could have included the OIC summit, the ongoing unrest in Balochistan and the no-confidence move against the Imran Khan government.

The fissures between Imran Khan and the Army establishment became visible when the former in his profanity-laced address on March 11 had snubbed Army Chief Bajwa's suggestion to not use derogative remarks against Opposition leaders.

"I was just talking to Gen Bajwa (Chief of Pakistani Army) and he told me not to refer to Fazl as 'diesel'. But I am not the one who is saying that. The people have named him diesel," Khan reportedly said referring to JUI-F leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Afraid of losing the no-confidence vote, Imran Khan knocks on Supreme Court doors

An insecure Imran Khan has taken the legal route, seeking action against defectors from his party who are likely to vote against him in the no-confidence vote. On Monday, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government filed a petition in Supreme Court seeking clarification on whether the dissident lawmakers would be disqualified for voting against embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan during the no-trust motion.

As PTI has only 155 members in the 342-member National Assembly, the government's survival depends on the support of allies such as MQM-P (7 seats), BAP (5 seats), PML(Q) (5 seats), GDA (3 seats), AML (1 seat), JWP (1 seat) and 2 Independents.

To topple the Imran Khan-led government, the opposition has to get at least 172 out of 342 votes, it already has a total of 162 seats. Nearly, two dozen lawmakers have openly threatened to dissent against Imran Khan.  

17:42 IST, March 22nd 2022