Bangladesh views what is happening in Pakistan on the political front as their “internal matter” and has no comment on that.
However, the political development in Pakistan is being monitored, officials in Dhaka said.
Imran Khan, a cricketer-turned-politician, was ousted as prime minister early Sunday after losing a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Deserted by his party allies and a key coalition partner, his opposition pushed Khan out with 174 votes — two more than the required simple majority in the 342-seat National Assembly.
“It’s their internal matter,” Foreign Secretary Masud bin Momen told the media on Sunday when his comment was sought on the situation in Pakistan.
Pakistani lawmakers convened Monday to choose a new prime minister, capping a tumultuous week of political drama that saw the ouster of Imran Khan as premier and a constitutional crisis narrowly averted after the country’s top court stepped in, reports Associated Press.
But lawmakers from Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Pakistan Justice Party, resigned collectively just ahead of the vote and more than 100 of them walked out of the National Assembly.
The walkout followed an impassionate speech by Khan’s ally, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who defended Khan, lauding what he described as Khan’s independence and refusal to bow to U.S. pressure. “We boycott this election according to the decision of our party, and we are resigning,” Qureshi said.
After the walkout, opposition lawmakers started voting on the new prime minister, with opposition lawmaker Shahbaz Sharif as the only contender. He is the brother of disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif but his election will not guarantee a clear path forward — or solve Pakistan’s many economic problems, including high inflation and a soaring energy crisis, according to AP.
Source: United News of Bangladesh