Pakistan: Supreme Court invalidates instructions given by Imran Khan

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Pakistan's Supreme Court declared on Thursday that the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives' revocation of the vote of no-confidence against Prime Minister Imran Khan was unconstitutional. 

The Supreme Court invalidated all the instructions given by the Prime Minister to the President including the dissolution of Parliament, while setting April 9 as the date for the vote of confidence in Imran Khan's government. 

The Prime Minister had requested that the president dissolve the legislature after the deputy speaker refused to allow a no-confidence vote against Khan on Sunday. The Supreme Court ruled this action invalid.

"All actions taken are of no legal effect and quashed," the court ruling said, adding that "the national assembly continues to remain in session."

The Pakistani PM had described on Friday the move to topple him as an "attempt to change the regime by support from the United States," as he faced a vote to oust him on Sunday.

"The move to oust me is [a] blatant interference in domestic politics by the United States," Khan said in a statement to a group of foreign journalists on Saturday.

Pakistan's PM stated on Friday that his government gave an official note to the United States Embassy in Islamabad to protest Washington's interference in the country's affairs. 

No premier in Pakistan has ever completed one full term. Imran Khan has so far faced the biggest challenge to his premiership since being elected in 2018, as his political opponents have been accusing him of economic mismanagement.