Pakistan PM Imran Khan seeks vote of confidence after Senate election debacle

Pakistan PM Imran Khan has sent advice to President Alvi under article 91 to summon special session of the National Assembly for a vote of confidence which is likely to take place on Saturday.

The vote comes as PM Imran Khan's party suffered a setback in the Senate elections after Imran's close aide Abdul Hafeez Shaikh lost a key seat to opposition candidate Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Under the article 91 of the Pakistani constitution, the president must approve the confidence motion, however, the motion is yet to be passed currently. After it gets passed then either the prime minister can ask the president or the president himself can call a special assembly session to seek the confidence vote.

Reports say PM Imran Khan is likely to be present during the confidence vote. The Pakistan PM is set to address the nation later today, reports said.

The move follows after Imran's PTI lost the key Islamabad seat, hours after the results were declared, foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said the PM Imran Khan had decided to seek a vote of confidence.

The decision was taken in the meeting of the party after consultations, Qureshi asserted. Members of Pakistan’s 96-member Upper House are elected for six-year terms and after almost every three years, elections are held for half of the House seats where Senators are elected by provincial lawmakers and members of the lower house.

Although the PTI had won the 2018 general elections, PM Imran Khan's coalition does not have a majority in the Senate.