REUTERS, Islamabad

Pakistan’s political turmoil deepened yesterday, when Prime Minister Imran Khan avoided an attempt to oust him and sought fresh elections after dissolving parliament, a move the opposition called treasonous and vowed to fight.

The deputy speaker of parliament, a member of Khan’s party, blocked an opposition no-confidence motion that Khan had widely been expected to lose, ruling it was part of a foreign conspiracy and unconstitutional.

That stymied the opposition’s attempt to come to power, and set up a potential legal showdown over the Constitution in the country of 220 million people.

Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif called the blocking of the vote “nothing short of high treason” and said on Twitter there would be consequences for “blatant & brazen violation of the Constitution.” He added he hoped the Supreme Court would uphold the Constitution.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, head of the opposition Pakistan People’s Party, promised a sit-in at parliament and told reporters, “We are also moving to the Supreme Court today.”

The Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial yesterday said evening the court would hear the matter today and that any directions given by the president and prime minister would be subject to the court’s orders.

The chief justice said that no unconstitutional step should be taken by any state institution and that no one should try to take advantage of the situation. Justice Bandial also ordered the interior and defence secretaries to brief the court on the law and order situation.

Bandial said the court would review the deputy speaker’s actions. The court, however, rejected a request to suspend the deputy speaker’s ruling and directed the attorney general to present ittoday, reported Dawn.

The opposition blames Khan for failing to revive the economy and crack down on corruption. Khan has said, without showing evidence, that the move to oust him was orchestrated by the United States, a claim Washington denies.