Imran Khan Wants Early Polls for Safe Exit, Backdoor Talks With Oppn On to Work Out Formula: Sources

Ahead of a no-confidence vote against him, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan wants a safe exit from the mess created by the Opposition and has sent them messages to work out a solution.

CNN-News18 has learnt that Khan sent messages to the opposition leaders on Wednesday to work out formula for early elections but they refused his request.

Now, the Pakistan PM wants some agreement so that some face-saving can be done.

Also Read: Pakistan PM Imran Khan Has Lost the Numbers Game, Writing on the Wall is Crystal Clear

On the other hand, top ministers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government have already advised Khan to resign. This group of ministers is hopeful about his resignation in the next two days.

Khan’s government is on shaky ground with the opposition moving a no-confidence motion to oust the PM holding him responsible for mismanaging the country’s economy.

The debate on the motion will be taken up in the Pakistan National Assembly on March 31.

Khan had on Tuesday directed his party’s lawmakers to either abstain from voting or not attend the Assembly session on the day of the voting on the motion. So far, no Pakistani PM has been ousted through a no-confidence motion, and Khan is the third PM to have faced this challenge. In fact, no Pakistani PM has ever completed a full five-term in office.

In the 342-member National Assembly, Khan’s PTI needs at least 172 members on its side to remain in the government. Nearly 20 defections in PTI and cracks in the coalition have made him short of 172 votes.

Around 100 lawmakers from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) submitted the no-confidence motion before the National Assembly Secretariat on March 8, alleging that the PTI government led by Khan was responsible for economic mismanagement, spiralling inflation and corruption in the country.

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