After losing the no-confidence vote against him in Pakistan’s National Assembly in the wee hours of Sunday, 10 April, former Prime Minister Imran Khan cited "foreign conspiracy" behind the the ousting of his government.
"Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy", he wrote in his first tweet after his removal from the post.
A former cricketer turned politician, Khan became Pakistan's first prime minister to be thrown out of power by a vote of no-confidence.
A no-confidence vote was held on 10 April and he was dismissed from office with 174 members favouring the resolution.
On Sunday, Imran Khan held and chaired his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's parliamentary board meeting as well.
Nominees for the PM's Post
Hours after Khan's overthrow, Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Khan's party) were nominated as prime ministerial candidates, ARY NEWS reported on Sunday.
Sharif on Sunday submitted his nomination papers for the Prime Minister's post in accordance with the deadline of the submission stipulated by the National Assembly (NA), The Express Tribune reported.
PML-N senior leaders Khawaja Asif and Rana Tanveer will act as endorsers for Sharif, while PTI members Aamir Dogar and Ali Muhammad Khan will serve as endorsers for the party's vice-chairman.
Their nomination papers have reportedly been examined.
Shehbaz Sharif, who appears likely to become Pakistan's next Prime Minister, had expressed his happiness after the vote on Sunday.
"Dear country and the House of Parliament, was finally freed from a serious crisis last night", he wrote in a tweet.
(With inputs from ARY News and The Express Tribune.)
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