The Supreme Court made the unanimous decision after a special trial that stretched over four days while Khan and his loyalist President Arif Alvi stalled a process to call early elections. The Supreme Court also overturned Khan’s order to dissolve parliament and call for snap elections, calling it “no legal effect”.
A vote of confidence in Khan will now take place on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. local time (1:30 a.m. ET).
Khan had called the elections in a dramatic bid to stay in power after the Deputy Speaker of Parliament last Sunday blocked a no-confidence vote against him that looked almost certain to succeed.
Deputy spokesman Qasim Khan Suri said he acted to prevent a “foreign conspiracy” to overthrow the Khan regime.
That move, and Khan’s subsequent dissolution of parliament, incensed an opposition that has been calling for his ouster for months over allegations of poor governance and economic mismanagement.
The opposition accused Khan of treason and asked the country’s highest court to rule on whether the prime minister violated the constitution.
The court battle is the latest escalation of a crisis that has been smoldering for weeks, in which Khan has already lost the backing of key political allies and the country’s powerful military.
Military spokesman Maj-Gen Babar Iftikhar moved to distance the country’s military from developments in a statement Sunday, insisting it was not involved in a “purely political situation”.
Pakistan, a nation of 220 million people, has struggled with political instability since its founding in 1947, with multiple regime changes and military coups. No Prime Minister has ever completed a full five-year term under the current 1973 Constitution.
The country’s main opposition parties have rallied for Khan’s sack since he came to power in 2018 after an election marred by allegations of vote-rigging and foul play.
More recently, he has been dogged by allegations of economic mismanagement as his government battled foreign exchange reserve depletion and double-digit inflation, with the cost of basic necessities like food and fuel skyrocketing.
Khan’s response has been to double down on claims that opposition to him is fueled by the United States. He has not presented any evidence to support his claims and the State Department has denied the allegations.