Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan questions judiciary's role in his ouster

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf Chairman Imran Khan has questioned the judiciary to explain the motive behind opening its doors at midnight on Saturday, hours before his ouster as the prime minister via a successful no-confidence motion against him in the National Assembly.

The no-trust vote took place after a high political drama in the National Assembly with the Supreme Court overturning the decision of the Deputy Speaker to reject the opposition sponsored no-confidence motion against the ruling PTI-led coalition.

In his first public address on Wednesday at a rally in Peshawar since losing power, Khan directly addressed the judiciary, and asked: "I ask the judiciary that when you opened the court in the dead of night ... this nation has known me for 45 years. Have I ever broken the law? When I played cricket, did anyone ever accuse me of match-fixing?

Referring to the rallies that started from Sunday, Imran said, "Every time a prime minister was ousted, people would celebrate it, but when he was removed from office, the masses registered a protest ."

He reiterated that a "foreign conspiracy" was plotted in Washington with the help of the Opposition parties to overthrow the PTI government in Pakistan.

The former premier said that those who had hatched the conspiracy were very happy that he was ousted from the government. "I was not dangerous when I was part of the government, but I will be more dangerous now."

"We will not accept an imported government and people have shown what they want by holding demonstrations against the move," he said.

Addressing a massive rally he highlighted that the people of Pakistan will not accept Shehbaz Sharif as his Prime Minister as he has corruption cases worth Rs 40,000 crore.

"During my 25 years of politics, I have never provoked the public against state institutions or the judiciary because my life and death is in Pakistan. I ask you, what crime had I exactly committed that you opened up the courts at midnight?" he asked.

"There are 40,000 crore corruption cases against Shehbaz Sharif. Do you think we will accept him as our Prime Minister? and whoever thinks so... would like to tell that it is not that 1970's Pakistan when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was removed with the help of foreign powers. It is a Naya Pakistan," he said further.

Imran Khan had sought to link the opposition's move to oust him through a no-trust vote with "foreign conspiracy" and named the United States in some of his speeches. However, the United States rejected his allegations. Imran Khan also gave calls for people to take to the streets while the joint opposition remained steadfast in its objective of defeating him.

Imran Khan has become the first Prime Minister of Pakistan to lose a no-trust vote in the National Assembly.

Despite several attempts to block the no-confidence motion here in the National Assembly, the voting took place after midnight in which as many as 174 members voted in favour of the motion in the 342-member House while members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were absent.

Notably, no Prime Minister has completed a full five-year tenure in Pakistan so far, according to reports.