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Army Backing Vital for Khan to Survive Pakistan Confidence Vote

  • Prime minister to seek parliament vote after shock Senate loss
  • Khan met army, intelligence heads after unexpected outcome
Imran Khan addressing the nation on television, in Karachi on March 4. 

Imran Khan addressing the nation on television, in Karachi on March 4. 

Photographer: Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images

Bloomberg News
Updated on

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan spent much of his election campaign in 2018 denying he was a military stooge. Yet after suffering a shocking loss in parliament this week, he turned to the nation’s powerful army chief.

Khan met General Qamar Javed Bajwa along with the head of the military’s spy agency on Thursday after his finance minister lost a vote in the National Assembly, or lower house, during an election for the Senate. That defeat prompted Khan to seek a confidence vote on Saturday to prove he still commands a majority to govern.