As the Pakistan parliament is all set to hold no-confidence vote that could Prime Minister Imran Khan ousted on Sunday, the politician has suggested yesterday that he might not accept it-- a move he alleged was being orchestrated by the US.
Reportedly backed by the army while taking office in 2018, Khan also urged his supporters to take to the streets on Sunday, to peacefully protest against what he said was a "conspiracy" hatched outside Pakistan to unseat him.
Khan has denied ever having the backing of the military.
Interestingly, army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa earlier on Saturday sought to expand relationship with Washington, a day after Islamabad protested to the US embassy over alleged interference in its internal affairs.
The White House has denied that it is seeking to topple Khan.
Opposition parties say Khan has failed to revive an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic or fulfil promises to make his government more transparent and accountable.
Speaking on Thursday in a nationally televised address, Khan said a Western country had been unhappy about his Moscow visit. He mentioned the US before smilingly correcting it to "a foreign country".
But on Friday evening, Khan named the US in an interview.
"How can I accept the result when the entire process is discredited?" Khan told a select group of foreign journalists at his office Sunday. "Democracy functions on moral authority - what moral authority is left after this connivance?"
"The move to oust me is blatant interference in domestic politics by the United States," he said, terming it an attempt at "regime change".
Khan has already lost his parliamentary majority after key allies quit his coalition government and joined the opposition.
US ties
Meanwhile, Bajwa told a security conference in Islamabad that "we share a long history of excellent and strategic relationship with the US, which remains our largest export market".
He noted that Pakistan had long enjoyed close diplomatic and business relationships with China, but added: "We seek to expand and broaden our ties with both countries without impacting our relations with the other."
The US embassy in Islamabad did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Faced with the tight no-confidence vote that could see Khan ousted after defections from his ruling coalition, he has been alleging in his campaign to remain in power that a foreign-funded conspiracy was backing his ouster after he visited Moscow in February.
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Khan met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on the day Russian forces invaded neighbouring Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden has not called Khan since taking office in 2018.
No Pakistan premier has ever completed a full term, and Khan is facing the biggest challenge to his rule since being elected in 2018, with opponents accusing him of economic mismanagement and foreign-policy bungling.
Parliament is due to debate the motion Sunday -- with a vote possibly the same day -- but Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) effectively lost its majority in the 342-member assembly last week when a coalition partner said its seven lawmakers would vote with the opposition.
More than a dozen PTI lawmakers have also indicated they will cross the floor, although party leaders are trying to get the courts to prevent them from voting.
Khan has accused the opposition of conspiring with Washington to remove him because he won't take the West's side on global issues against Russia and China.
Army key to power
If Khan goes, the PML-N's Shehbaz Sharif is tipped to become the next prime minister -- but on Saturday the government moved to have him sent back to jail to await trial on money-laundering charges that have been pending since 2020.
The government asked a Lahore court to revoke his bail, with a decision expected on Monday.
Khan was elected after promising to sweep away decades of entrenched corruption and cronyism, but has struggled to maintain support with inflation skyrocketing, a feeble rupee and crippling debt.
Some analysts say Khan has also lost the crucial support of the military -- claims both sides deny -- and Pakistan's army is key to political power.
Debate on the no-confidence motion was due to start on Thursday, but the deputy speaker -- from Khan's party -- suspended proceedings when legislators declined to first address other items on the agenda.