Imran Khan hints at early elections, says Oppn part of 'international conspiracy' to remove his govt

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Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said that it would be a nice idea to go into early elections after the vote on no-confidence motion and reiterated that the Opposition is part of an "international conspiracy" to remove his government.

"Our people who have run away (referring to the coalition allies of PTI). It is obvious that we can't run the government with them even if we get a majority. So it will be better for Pakistan to conduct an election so that everything is clear about who stands where," Imran Khan said during an interview with ARY News.

Imran Khan used the occasion to reiterate his claims of a foreign conspiracy, and lambasted the country's Opposition, particularly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif for being part of an international plot to remove the Pakistani government.

"The Opposition is part of an international conspiracy to remove the government... I invited Shehbaz Sharif to a meeting (of Parliament's security council), but he did not come... because he is part of the conspiracy... the Opposition boycotted the meeting," Khan said.

Signalling that he may lose the vote on no-confidence on Sunday, Khan raised questions about the Opposition running the government, saying that the Opposition leaders were only busy distributing portfolios among themselves.

Imran Khan also underscored that he won't resign and that he will fight till the last ball is bowled and the match is lost.

In an address to the nation on Thursday, Pakistan's embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan had raised a "foreign conspiracy" charge amid the opposition's growing confidence about the no-trust motion against his government that is pending in the National Assembly.

"The United States", Imran Khan said in a slip of the tongue and then stated that "a foreign country" had sent a "threatening memo" which was against the Pakistani nation.

"On March 8 or before that on March 7, the US sent us a...not the US but a foreign country sent us a message. The reason why I talking about this...for an independent country to receive such a message... this is against me and the country," he said.

Later in the day, the United States rejected insinuations made by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan regarding Washington's role in the alleged "foreign conspiracy" to oust him from power.

"There is no truth to these allegations. We are closely following developments in Pakistan. We respect and support Pakistan's constitutional process and the rule of law," a US State Department spokesperson told ANI.

In Pakistan's National Assembly, the no-trust vote against the Imran Khan government was deferred to April 3. The proceedings of the National Assembly were adjourned till April 3 soon after it met on Thursday to discuss the no-confidence motion.

Earlier, on Monday, Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif tabled the no-confidence motion.Imran Khan is the third Prime Minister to face the no-confidence motion in Pakistan.

After the no-confidence motion was tabled with a total of 161 votes in favour, the proceedings of the National Assembly were adjourned till March 31.

Imran Khan received a massive blow when the PTI "lost the majority" in the National Assembly after losing its key ally in the coalition Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQM-P). The MQM announced on Wednesday that it had struck a deal with the opposition Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and would support the no-trust vote in the 342-member National Assembly.

The government's survival depends on the support of allies such as MQM-P (7 seats), BAP (5 seats), PML(Q) (5 seats), GDA (3 seats), AML (1 seat), JWP (1 seat) and two independents.

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