2022 Pakistani constitutional crisis

A political and constitutional crisis emerged in Pakistan from, 3 April 2022 to 10 April 2022 when, National Assembly's deputy speaker Qasim Khan Suri dismissed a no-confidence motion against prime minister Imran Khan during a session in which it was expected to be taken up for a vote, alleging that a foreign country's involvement in the regime change was contradictory to Article 5 of the constitution of Pakistan.

[15] Later in the day, the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial took suo moto notice of the ongoing situation in the country.

[17] On 4 April the Cabinet Secretariat issued a notification stating that Khan had "ceased to hold the office of the prime minister of Pakistan with immediate effect".

However a contradicting notification issued by President Office the same day stated that Khan would continue to dispose of his duties as Prime Minister till the appointment of a caretaker premier.

"[22][23] On 30 March 2022, the Islamabad High Court ruled that publishing the contents of a diplomatic cable from the outgoing Pakistani ambassador, which Khan described as "containing threats from the United States," would violate his oath of office and the Official Secrets Act, 1923.

[25][26] On 10 May 2022, the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif addressed the National Assembly and acknowledged the letter was threatening, but said the notes did not involve a conspiracy or treason.

According to the cable published by The Intercept, at a 7 March 2022 meeting, the U.S. State Department encouraged the Pakistani government to remove Imran Khan from office because of his neutrality on the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

[35] After Khan’s removal the US helped Pakistan secure an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund, which eased the economic pressure and allowed the new government to delay elections.

[40] On 6 April, the Supreme Court adjourned again the matter while seeking the minutes of the NSC meeting where the "foreign conspiracy to overthrow the Khan Government" was discussed.

[9][44] On 9 April, the National Assembly was reconvened, however the motion was not immediately put to a vote amid filibustering by members of the treasury benches and the session was adjourned thrice.

[8][9][46] On April 11, the National Assembly elected the leader of the opposition, Shehbaz Sharif, to succeed Khan as the new prime minister, with 174 votes polled in favour of his succession.