The Pakistan establishment wanted Imran Khan to be ousted as the Prime Minister in November 2021, but the move was delayed till March this year, as the country was facing an economic crisis, top sources told News18.
Khan was ousted after he lost a no-trust vote on Saturday night.
News18 had on November 15 reported about the two options presented before Khan – quitting on his own before November 20, or the Opposition bringing in an in-house change in Parliament.
However, according to sources, around the end of 2021, the country’s reserves were empty and it was in desperate need for the USD 1 billion aid from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Among IMF’s other conditions to grant help were democratic norms and earnings in tax collections, said sources, which made having a stable government a necessity and thus gave Khan almost five more months as the PM.
THE DEAL
Pakistan and the IMF had signed the USD 6 billion deal in July 2019, but the programme was derailed in January 2020 and restored briefly in March before going off the track in June. Pakistan had budgeted over Rs 400 billion or USD 3.1 billion from the IMF in fiscal year 2021 and its disbursement was only possible with the completion of the remaining reviews.
The country recorded a negative rate of growth in 2019, with a steep fall in real income and an overall slump in the economy.
Since then, Pakistan has witnessed multiple protests and blockades against the government’s economic policies.
Between 1990 and 2016, the external government debt payments averaged 16% of the country’s revenue with a majority amount under the interest on these loans.
The IMF released a tranche of USD 1 billion under the Extended Fund Facility in February. As soon as the funds were released, the Opposition front moved a no-trust motion on March 8.
MASS RESIGNATIONS NEXT?
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf announced on Sunday that its lawmakers would resign on Monday if Opposition candidate Shehbaz Sharif was allowed to contest election of the prime minister. The announcement was made by senior party leader and former information minister Fawad Chaudhry while addressing the media after the meeting of PTI’s Core Committee chaired by Khan. News18 had reported on the possibility.
“If our objections on Shehbaz Sharif’s (nomination) papers are not addressed, then we will resign tomorrow,” he said, adding that it was decided at the meeting. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz on Sunday nominated himself for the post of prime minister.
The process of electing the new leader of the house began on Sunday. Shehbaz is likely to be elected as Khan’s successor in the National Assembly on Monday. In the house of 342, the winner would need 172 votes to become the new prime minister.
With Agency Inputs
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