Pahw-kee-stawn
By Kathy Gannon - Associated Press - Updated: 7:46 a.m. on Monday, April 11, 2022
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistani lawmakers convened Monday to choose a new prime minister, capping a tumultuous week of political drama that saw the ouster of Imran Khan as premier and a constitutional crisis narrowly averted after the country’s top court stepped in.
But lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Pakistan Justice Party, resigned collectively just ahead of the vote and more than 100 of them walked out of the National Assembly.
The walkout followed an impassionate speech by Khan‘s ally, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who defended Khan, lauding what he described as Khan’s independence and refusal to bow to U.S. pressure. “We boycott this election according to the decision of our party, and we are resigning,” Qureshi said.
After the walkout, opposition lawmakers started voting on the new prime minister, with opposition lawmaker Shahbaz Sharif as the only contender. He is the brother of disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but his election will not guarantee a clear path forward — or solve Pakistan’s many economic problems, including high inflation and a soaring energy crisis.
Khan, a former cricket star whose conservative Islamist ideology and dogged independence characterized his three years and eight months in office, was ousted early Sunday after losing a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Deserted by his party allies and a key coalition partner, the opposition pushed Khan out with 174 votes — two more than the required simple majority in the 342-seat National Assembly.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2022/apr/11/ousted-pm-imran-khans-party-walks-out-of-pakistan-/