The Pakistani parliament grants Imran Khan confidence in the opposition boycott

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan won a vote of confidence in parliament on Saturday, in a session overshadowed by the opposition’s boycott of the vote, and clashes between government supporters and opposition leaders outside the parliament building.

The Speaker of Parliament announced that Khan managed to obtain the support of 178 votes, while he needed 172 votes to win the confidence vote.

It was Khan, who took office after the 2018 general elections, who sought the confidence of Parliament after the finance minister lost a crucial seat in the Senate in elections last week.

Opposition parties boycotted the session, saying the defeat in the Senate seat “is sufficient to show that Khan no longer enjoys the confidence of the House, which means that a vote of confidence is unnecessary.”

Media footage showed that opposition leaders were protesting and speaking to the media outside parliament, when a mob of government supporters surrounded them and attacked them.

source: Reuters