Pakistan's embattled PM ousted in no-confidence vote

Pakistan opposition and some members of Khans own party sold out to The US! They knew that a re-election will only show that Khan still had a wide support of majority of the citizens.

Most commentary from the region seems to be counting on Shahbaz Sharif to lead the next government.

But this is quite a fluid situation, in that some expect Khan not to want to go quietly into the night.

But Shahbaz Sharif seems to have the backing of the military, which should help calm the situation.

The focus then becomes one on how Pakistan will keep from becoming another Algeria politically, and balance relations with its neighbors.

I am getting the feeling these days whenever governments are losing control in a nation, they always use the US conspiracy card. I wonder if this is karma for the US.

Hiro,he reaping ,what he sowed,by supporting the Taliban

Hiro:

I am getting the feeling these days whenever governments are losing control in a nation, they always use the US conspiracy card.

We have the receipts. And it's not a card, but a letter.

@Joanne

What planet are you on? Khan sold out to China, he has even accused the US of covert regime change to rid him of rule (deluded).

Under Khan, Pakistan sold out to China. Now China is running illicit drugs through Gwada port (now controlled by Chinese), CPEC (part of B&R) is rife with exploitation and corruption and locals along the route are very upset. It is a pattern repeated through out the world, just look at the state of Sri Lanka, Ecuador ...Solomon Islands. Corrupt leaders receiving secrets bribes whilst the majority of the population suffer.

I'm surprised Khan lasted this long given the antics. The only question is when will global leadership crack down on corruption and seize assets, Russian style. Until then, it's always cheaper for China to buy a handful of leaders than an entire population.

@ Hiro "I am getting the feeling these days whenever governments are losing control in a nation, they always use the US conspiracy card. I wonder if this is karma for the US."

Khan is a kept lacky, he will say what ever China tells him to say. He has even defended China controlled Gwada ports drugs trafficking, despite massive protests from locals AND from his own law enforcement agencies. Either China has something on him, or he has been paid very well.

The Sharif clan has had an uneasy relationship with the Army ever since Nawaz Sharif was ousted in a coup by Musharraf.

This time there seems to be some behind the scenes deal that Sharif will not pursue cases against Pakistan's military in return of the military's support.

Once the rogue state of the USA become involved, it's all over Red Rover..

USA regime change operation around the world in full swing.

USA threatened Pakistan of economic consequences if Khan stays in power. Some of the reasons USA wanted khan out of power is his opposition to USA policy in Afghanistan and Pakistan abstaining in UN vote on Ukraine.

Political situation in Sri Lanka, another country abstained in UN vote on Ukraine, became unstable in past few weeks.

Hiro,he reaping ,what he sowed,by supporting the Taliban

The Pakistani ISI built and funded the Taliban many decades ago as a way to keep the Pashtuns down. The Pashtuns of Afghanistan do not recognize the current border between their country and Pakistan. They consider all of the Pashto speaking parts of Pakistan to be part of Afghanistan. Pakistan's military and intelligence services use fundamentalist Islam as a way to unify different ethnicities and expect the Taliban to put down any Pashtun ideas about unifying the Pashto speaking parts of Pakistan with Afghanistan. That is what drives Pakistani governments of all stripes to support the Taliban.

With resect to this letter from the US, Mr. Khan needs to put up or shut up. Show the world this letter. Nobody has been allowed to see the actual letter but some of the wording attributed to it is not normal diplomatic language. Diplomats never say things like "and all will be forgiven". I makes me doubt the veracity of Mr. Khan's claims.

Political situation in Sri Lanka, another country abstained in UN vote on Ukraine, became unstable in past few weeks.

What is happening in Sri Lanka has nothing to do with events anywhere but Sri Lanka. They are poorly governed, took on too much debt then took hammer blows from lost tourism due social upheaval circa 2020 that led to bombings of churches and resort hotels, followed by the pandemic destroying what tourism was left, heavy monsoonal flooding that did massive damage and a law banning chemical fertilizers that cut deeply into agricultural production. All of that resulted in much less revenue to the government and the current crisis of there not being enough foreign exchange left to buy food and fuel. Now how that is the fault of any other nation anywhere in the world has to explained to me. Those were Sri Lankan decisions biting them in the backside.

Here is the story with Gwadar, water shortages, Chinese firms hiring only Chinese, the fortification and militarization of the port and the Khan government not only evacuating local fishermen from their fishing grounds to build the port, but afterwards awarding concessions to Chinese trawlers which are driving the local fishermen out of business. There is also a Balochistan independence movement seeking to create an independent nation out of the Pakistani state that are attacking both the Chinese businesses and Pakistan Army. The locals see all this money pouring into this fortified Chinese port but nothing is going to local communities to improve access to fresh water, health care nor do they see any improvements in their infrastructure. All the money goes to a fortified port operated by the Chinese. There is resentment aimed at both China and the government of Pakistan.

https://thesikkimtoday.com/2021/08/30/growing-protest-against-china-in-pakistan/

https://asiatimes.com/2020/12/gwadar-port-sealed-off-to-protect-chinese-firms/

https://greekcitytimes.com/2021/12/29/gwadar-local-residents/

Another striking success for America's major foreign policy, "Regime Change". Intrusion into other countries' political processes seems natural to American interests, and done so easily and well-camouflaged by generations of experience, but any hint of that happening in America raises an almost hysterical response by our hypocrisy seasoned political liars. Well, unlike so many other places, at least it didn't involve massive civilian death, or not yet anyway.

The US-govt doesn't care.

There is slight interest, but not much more. Sri Lanka isn't exactly a critical partner with vast US interests or critical placement in the region.

For those inclined to believe that a superpower was behind Khan's removal, wouldn't logic suggest that such a power wanting regime change in this country would favor a military takeover and martial law (or maybe worse?), as opposed to timely action via no-confidence vote motion by the Parliament of Pakistan, following deliberation by the Supreme Court of Pakistan? Seems to me that any power wanting Pakistan to be a puppet would not favor a democratic method on which to remove Khan.

Khan supporters can find some comfort in the fact that it appears that he will probably 'do a Marzouki' - as it is referred to in Tunisia - and continue to sponsor turmoil and revolution from the comfort and convenience of living abroad in a friendly country.