‘An imported plot’: Imran slams US on trust vote eve

Pakistan PM says he won’t resign, calls for street protests on Sunday, praises India’s independent foreign policy

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan called for peaceful street protests and repeated his long-hyped assertion that the U.S. wanted to oust his government, ahead of a no-confidence vote that could bring the opposition to power within days.

The country’s parliament will convene on Saturday to vote on Khan as prime minister, an official notice said on Friday.

In an address to the nation ahead of the no-trust motion on Saturday where he has little chance of surviving, the 69-yearold Khan also expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court’s verdict on the National Assembly deputy speaker’s decision on the rejection of the no-trust motion against him.

“We accept the court’s decision,” Khan said, adding that he was “disappointed” that the court did not look into the proof that a foreign conspiracy by Washington

was behind the move to edge out his government. The U.S. has denied the allegation.

Khan said he would not accept a foreign-backed government, but asked his followers to protest peacefully starting Sunday evening, indicating that he would face the confidence vote in parliament.

“I will not accept this imported government, I will take to the streets… Only people can

bring me to power and I will come back with the help of the people,” he said.

When the vote was initially scheduled a week ago, Khan’s ally had used his powers as deputy speaker to cancel the vote citing foreign interference, forcing the court to step in with a ruling.

The former cricket star spent the bulk of his nearly 50-minute speech on Friday on his allegations of a “foreign conspiracy”. He has never revealed any documents to back his claims publicly.

The opposition, led by Shehbaz Sharif, has said it has the numbers to oust Khan. It had initially decried his push to call elections as treasonous.

“Today, politics of lies, deceit & allegations has been buried,” Sharif, who is likely to become prime minister barring any lastminute shifts, said on Twitter