“Judicial coup happened last night…ending parliamentary supremacy,” rights minister says
Supreme Court ruled Khan acted unconstitutionally in blocking no-trust vote on Sunday
A member of Pakistan’s government denounced on Friday a Supreme Court decision to quash an attempt by Prime Minister Imran Khan to block a no-confidence vote against him, saying the court’s ruling was akin to a “judicial coup”.
The court ruling late on Thursday that Khan must face the no-confidence vote, which he is widely expected to lose, meaning the former cricket star will be ousted as prime minister.
“A judicial coup happened last night … ending parliamentary supremacy!” Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari said on Twitter.
Khan is due to address the nation later on Friday.
The Supreme Court ruled that Khan had acted unconstitutionally in blocking the no-confidence vote on Sunday, after which he dissolved parliament and called an election.
The court ordered that parliament be reconvened by Saturday and the no-confidence vote should go ahead.
Afterward, Khan signaled his defiance with a cricketing term: “My message to our nation is I have always and will continue to fight for (Pakistan) till the last ball.”
Mazari also suggested that Khan and his allies would fight on.
“The long shadows hanging over this judicial decision think the game has been won but frankly it has just started,” she said.
Khan, who opposed the U.S.-led intervention in Afghanistan and has developed relations with Russia since he became prime minister in 2018, has accused the United States of supporting a plot to oust him. Washington dismissed the accusation.
Mazari also brought up the alleged conspiracy, saying the court had “ignored” the issue of a “US attempt at regime change”.
The court ruling is the latest twist in a crisis that has threatened political and economic stability in the nuclear-armed country of 220 million people, with the rupee currency hitting all-time lows on Thursday and foreign exchange reserves tumbling.
Political chaos would worry the powerful military, which has stepped in to remove civilian governments and rule on three occasions, citing the need to end political uncertainty.
