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.

The 2022 Pakistani protest