Loyalists Desert Pakistan’s PM Khan as Rivals Mount Pressure
- Breakaway faction of the prime minister’s ruling party grows
- Opposition plans protests, seeks confidence vote in parliament
Imran Khan
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing the most serious challenge to his rule as senior party leaders desert him amid a renewed opposition push to box him in with street protests and demands he faces a no-confidence vote.
A senior member of Khan’s government, Aleem Khan, joined a breakaway group of the ruling Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Monday citing disappointment with the premier’s governance since he came to power in August 2018. Over the weekend, the prime minister’s former special assistant Nadeem Afzal Chan also defected to the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party.