Staring at an ouster from the top job after opposition leaders launched a no-confident motion against him, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has reportedly offered the Ports and Shipping portfolio to ally MQM-P in exchange for support in parliament.
The Ministry of Ports and Shipping has been a longstanding demand of MQM-P, which has seven seats in the National Assembly. Reports said a government delegation will meet MQM-P leadership for further discussions.
The no-confidence motion was moved in parliament on Monday with opposition leaders accusing Imran Khan of mismanaging the nation’s economy. The house will begin a debate on the motion on Thursday and a vote is to be held within seven days.
“The prime minister ceases to hold his office after he has lost the confidence of this house,” opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif said, reading from the no-confidence motion telecast live on television.
The move comes as Pakistan faces a recurring economic crisis, with Khan’s government banking on the International Monetary Fund to release the next tranche of a $6 billion rescue package to shore up dwindling foreign currency reserves.
Khan, 69, lost a parliamentary majority with a series of defections from his party, and a united opposition is calling on him to step down. He has vowed to fight to stay put.
Nearly 20 defections in Khan’s ruling party and cracks in his coalition partners have made him short of the 172 votes, a simple majority, needed to hold on to power.
To try to survive, the government announced it would give the post of chief minister of the country’s largest province, Punjab, to one of its coalition partners.
But another ruling coalition party decided to join the opposition, making the opposition stronger with 168 votes.
The opposition and analysts say the prime minister has fallen out with the powerful military, which mostly determines who will rule, a charge both Khan and the military deny.
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