Imran
Khan will continue to be the Prime Minister of Pakistan until the appointment
of his replacement, President Arif Alvi said in a statement on Monday.

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Earlier
in the day, the Cabinet Secretariat issued a notification stating that Khan had
“ceased to hold the office of the prime minister of Pakistan with immediate
effect”.

However,
under Article 94 of the Constitution, the president “may ask the Prime Minister
to continue to hold office until his successor enters upon the office of Prime
Minister”.

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President
Alvi had dissolved the National Assembly (NA) on the advice of Prime Minister
Khan, minutes after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri rejected a no-confidence motion
against the premier, who had effectively lost the majority in the 342-member
lower house of Parliament.

Stunned
opposition lawmakers have challenged the move before the country’s Supreme
Court, calling it “unprecedented” and a “blatant violation” of Pakistan’s Constitution.
Allies of Khan said that the court had no authority to intervene in the
legislature’s business and doubled down on Khan’s accusations of a United
States-backed conspiracy to oust him.

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The
Supreme Court scheduled a hearing for Monday.

The
move to dissolve the legislature appeared to be a defiant bid by Imran Khan to
remain in power despite losing the backing of the military and facing growing
opposition efforts to vote him out of office.

The
manoeuvre also risked destabilizing the fragile democracy in Pakistan, a
nuclear-armed nation that supports the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan and
has struggled with instability and military coups since its founding 75 years
ago.

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In
a televised speech on Sunday, Khan confirmed that he had ordered the legislature
dissolved. He justified it by claiming, as he has repeatedly in recent days,
that the move to oust him from office was part of an American conspiracy. He
has offered no evidence to support his claims, and American officials have
denied the allegations.

“Prepare
for elections,” Imran Khan said. “No corrupt forces will decide what the future
of the country will be.”