Imran Khan Dissolves Pakistan Parliament

On Sunday, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan surprised his opponents by receiving presidential approval for the dissolution of Parliament, a move denounced by the opposition as “unconstitutional.” The latter has filed a petition with the Supreme Court to overturn the ruling.

The announcement came hours after the Pakistan Supreme Court said that any orders and actions taken by the President, Prime Minister, and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly on the politically charged day in Islamabad would be subject to its verdict.

In a hearing later on Sunday, the Pakistan Supreme Court barred any state institutions from taking any “extra-constitutional” acts following the rejection of the no-confidence motion in the National Assembly. The startled Opposition called the whole thing unlawful, and its legislators refused to leave the Parliament House, which was guarded by security officials.

Khan was generally expected to lose a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly brought by a coalition of opposition MPs, including more than a dozen defectors from his own party.

Following the high drama in Pakistani politics, the Supreme Court took suo moto notice of President Arif Alvi’s dissolution of the National Assembly on Sunday.