By IANS
ISLAMABAD: Imran Khan was on Sunday de-notified as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, in wake of the dissolution of the National Assembly by the President, reports said.
However, under Article 224 of the Constitution of Pakistan, he can continue as the Prime Minister for 15 days till the appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister, Geo News reported.
He will not be empowered to make decisions that an elected head of the government can make, it added.
A notification from the Cabinet Division.A notification from the Cabinet Division said: “Consequent upon dissolution of the National Assembly by the President of Pakistan, in terms of Article 58(1) read with Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, vide Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs’ SRO No. 487(1)/2022, dated 3rd April, 2022, Mr Imran Ahmad Khan Niazi ceased to hold the Office of the Prime Minister of Pakistan, with immediate effect.”
There is still, however, no clarity over how a caretaker Prime Minister will be appointed as the Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition, who make the appointment, are no longer in office, after the dissolution of the National Assembly.
The de-notification comes hours after a day of fast-paced developments as now former Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri abruptly dismissed the no-confidence motion as “unconstitutional”, saying that it was backed by “foreign powers”.
Following the dismissal of the no-confidence motion, President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly upon the advice of the ex-Premier.
Imran Khan – addressing the nation shortly after the session’s adjournment – sought fresh elections and asked Pakistanis to gear up for the polls as the Opposition lashed out at the government’s act of dismissing the motion as “unconstitutional”.
Pakistan Supreme Court bars state institutions from taking any ‘unconstitutional’ steps after dissolution of National Assembly
Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Sunday barred all state institutions from taking any “unconstitutional” steps after the dismissal of the no-confidence vote in the National Assembly against Imran Khan and the subsequent approval of the president to dissolve the House at the advice of the embattled premier.
Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said that all orders and actions initiated by the prime minister and the president regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly will be subject to the court’s order as he adjourned for one day the hearing of the high-profile case.
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Chief Justice Bandial took notice of the political situation and a three member bench held the initial hearing despite the weekend and issued notices to all the respondents, including President Alvi and deputy Speaker of the NA, Suri.
The court ordered all parties not to take any “unconstitutional” measures and adjourned the hearing until Monday.
Chief Justice Bandial said that all orders and actions initiated by the prime minister and the president regarding the dissolution of the NA will be subject to the court’s order.
Former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said that the ruling given in the National Assembly deputy speaker for the dismissal of the no-trust motion against Imran Khan was “final” and could not be challenged in any court of law.
Imran Khan pokes fun at Opposition leaders; says they’re still unable to understand what happened
Earlier, Imran Khan poked fun at the Opposition leaders on Sunday after successfully evading a no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly.
“The opposition is still unable to understand what happened today,” Khan laughingly told his lawmakers.
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Khan told them in a meeting in Islamabad that he kept the final decision about defeating the opposition as he wanted to give them a surprise.
“The opposition is clueless about the situation right now. If I had disclosed what I was about to do yesterday, they wouldn’t have been shocked,” said Khan, who had effectively lost majority in the 342-member National Assembly.
(With Inputs From PTI)
