Pakistan PM Imran Khan wins trust vote

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has secured majority votes on Saturday to win the vote of confidence from the National Assembly, media reports said.

The premier needed 172 votes to win the confidence vote. Announcing the result, the speaker said that eight years ago, Imran had been elected to the post with 176 votes. “Today, he has secured 178 votes,” he said, Dawn reported.

Earlier, Imran appeared confident of winning a trust vote in the National Assembly even as the ruling party had warned rebels that those who vote against him would be disqualified.

Khan, 68, decided to take a vote of confidence in the lower house of Parliament after his finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was defeated in the closely-fought Senate election on Wednesday. The Opposition demanded the Prime Minister’s resignation after the debacle.