Is Pakistan’s PM Khan losing his political grip?

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Abstract

Islamabad’s political circles experienced a tumultuous week, even for Pakistani standards. On Saturday, March 6, 2021, Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asked lawmakers from the lower house of the country’s parliament for a vote of confidence. The PM secured 178 votes out of the 171 currently required to win the open ballot. Khan obviously felt that this move was necessary after a ‘surprise’ electoral defeat in the Senate polls three days earlier. Opposition parties – foremost the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) of former PM Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) of former president Asif Ali Zardari – were able to achieve majority (53 seats vis-à-vis 47 for the ruling alliance) in the upper house. Put simply and somewhat downplaying the whole complexity of electoral regulations, Senate elections seek legislators in the provincial assemblies to elect senators to represent their provinces – the National Assembly/NA also elects a Senator to represent the capital, Islamabad. It goes without saying that such elections, especially for the capital’s Senate seat, are extraordinary contested. […]