Pakistan PM Imran Khan wins trust vote

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday won a trust vote in the National Assembly, ending the political uncertainty in the country and strengthening his government''s legitimacy after an embarrassing defeat of the finance minister in the hotly-contested Senate elections. Imran Khan secured 178 votes in the 342-member lower house of Parliament during a special session convened on the directives of the President. He required 172 votes for a simple majority.

The floor test took place without the Opposition as the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) - an alliance of 11 parties - boycotted the voting, making it easier for Khan to secure the required numbers.Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi tabled a single-point resolution in the House. "That this House reposes confidence in the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,  Imran Khan, as required under clause (7) of Article 91 of the Constitution Islamic Republic of Pakistan," the resolution said.

Speaker Asad Qaiser announced the result, saying Imran Khan had been elected to the post with 176 votes more than two years back. "Today, he has secured 178 votes," he said. Imran Khan had decided to take a vote of confidence in the lower house of Parliament after his finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh was defeated in the closely-fought Senate election by former prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday. The Opposition demanded the Prime Minister's resignation after the debacle. Imran Khan is the second Prime Minister in the history of Pakistan who went to the National Assembly for a ''voluntary'' vote of confidence, Geo TV said.Then prime minister Nawaz Sharif had sought a voluntary vote of confidence from the Parliament after his reinstatement was granted by the Supreme Court in 1993.