Imran Khan’s party moves High Court seeking dismissal of Pakistan PM Sharif, cabinet


PTI | Islamabad | Updated: 27-07-2022 20:43 IST | Created: 27-07-2022 20:42 IST
Imran Khan’s party moves High Court seeking dismissal of Pakistan PM Sharif, cabinet
File Photo Image Credit: ANI
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Emboldened by Pakistan’s Supreme Court verdict in the Punjab Chief Minister’s election, ousted premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Wednesday approached a top court seeking the dismissal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government.

PML-Q leader Chaudhry Parvez Elahi, the 76-year-old leader backed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was sworn in as Punjab chief minister on Wednesday at the directions of the Supreme Court, dealing a huge blow to Prime Minister Sharif-led coalition, by removing his son Hamza Sharif as the executive head of the country’s politically crucial province.

Senior PTI leaders Andleeb Abbas and Hassan Niazi filed a petition in which the federal government, the principal secretary to the Prime Minister Sharif and the Election Commission of Pakistan amongst others were made parties to the case, according to the Express Tribune newspaper.

The petition contended that money laundering cases against the premier are under hearing, even as he and his cabinet have met with proclaimed offenders during their London trip, the report said.

Khan’s PTI argued that in a “clear violation of the law,” Prime Minister Sharif included his son, Salman and his wife in the official visit to Turkey. “The prime minister is violating the Constitution by misusing his powers,” the petition said.

Seeking the removal of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader from the premier’s office along with his cabinet, the petition also requested the Lahore High Court to order the caretaker prime minister to take over.

On May 11, Prime Minister Sharif along with the 10-member delegation of PML-N’s senior leadership had met the PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif in London to seek his counsel for overcoming the ongoing political, economic and constitutional crisis in the country, the report said.

It was learnt that Sharif had them swear their allegiance to him. Later that month, the premier, along with a high-level delegation, visited Turkey on a three-day official trip.

Besides discussing the Pakistan-Turkey bilateral relations, the two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues, the report added.

Since he was voted out of power on April 10, Khan, the cricketer-turned politician, has been targeting Shehbaz on money laundering charges and has labelled his successor an “extremely corrupt man.” Khan has been repeatedly claiming that the no-trust motion against him was the result of a “foreign conspiracy” because his independent foreign policy and funds were being channelled from abroad to oust him from power.

He has named the US as the country behind the conspiracy, a charge denied by Washington.

Khan has emphasised that his party would not deal with or accept the “imported government” headed by Prime Minister Sharif.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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