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Are Imran Khan’s Days as Pakistan’s Prime Minister Numbered?

One other thing to consider - regardless of how much importance you want to give to the polls right now, the PTI is clearly and comfortably one of the 2 largest/strongest political parties in the country right now, which is a far cry from before the 2018 elections.

That said, the PTI needs to deliver as much as possible on its agenda and get reelected to cement it's position. The other two political parties have staying power (unfortunately) in their respective strongholds of Punjab & Sindh by virtue of being political dynasties. Imran Khan has no political successor from his family ready to be next in line, so the second rung of leadership really needs to be groomed and given a chance to shine. The PTI has several impressive politicians in its ranks, but I'm not sure any single one has really captured the imagination of a large part of Pakistan (Asad Umar perhaps?).

A comparison, in terms of strengthening non-dynastic leadership, can be made with the BJP in India, but the problem there is that the second line of BJP leadership is popular because of being extremist religious ideologues - and those are not leadership characteristics that appear to have mass appeal in Pakistan.

If not the BJP, because of its dependence on extremist ideologues, then a comparison can be made with the Jamaat-e-Islami in Pakistan in terms of their strong grassroots organization and base. A combination of the PTI's centrist, pro-poor message and JI's grassroots organization could possibly help the PTI overcome the lack of dynastic leadership to a degree.

I think Jungibaaz was just discussing various possibilities - he's not endorsing a no-confidence motion.

This is a very valid political assessment. And it will surely help come 2023 and later. But I would add that here and now, if there is indeed a threat to IK before then (debatable and very speculative) IK should probably begin working on finding the possible turncoats within his own party that might flee with his coalition partners in the event that the latter do part from government, and he'd be wise to find some willing turncoats in opposition ranks (of which there are plenty) to sure him up if need be.

In the end, no matter what sort of plot is used against his premiership before 2023. It will have to work through the parliament (and possibly through the courts). And in parliament, it's a simple numbers game that he currently has an advantage in. Opposition's 156 seats are WAY short of 172 needed to get a motion passed, if his coalition partners (20 seats) turn on him and anyone from his own party, then we're talking of a possibility of a majority. IK knows this and I think he's doing his best to keep his partners in line, and his own power centres within PTI happy. He'd also be smart to find a few scum in the opposition ranks to bolster his parliamentary strength in case any of his own members step out of line. Abstentions are also part of the arithmetic, and the possibility of those mostly comes from PTI and coalition ranks, for which your suggestions are very important too.
 
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