Pakistan Opposition moves motion to remove National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser

Prime Minister Imran Khan is likely to be removed from office on Sunday as Parliament gathered to vote on a no-confidence motion following weeks of political turmoil.

A Pakistan Opposition member moved a motion for the removal of National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser on Sunday, prior to the no-trust vote session to remove Imran Khan as prime minister. The resolution, addressed to the secretary of the National Assembly secretariat, was submitted by Murtaza Javed Abbasi of the PML-N. The resolution carried the signatures of more than a hundred lawmakers.

Pakistani paramilitary troops patrol near a billboard with the picture of Prime Minister Imran Khan outside the National Assembly in Islamabad.  (AP)

PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, who shared an image of the resolution on Twitter, tagged the official handles of Khan and Qaiser, with the caption "surprise".

Khan is likely to be booted out of office later in the day as Parliament gathered to vote on a no-confidence motion following weeks of political turmoil.

No prime minister of Pakistan has ever completed a full term, and Khan faces the biggest challenge to his rule since being elected in 2018, with opponents accusing him of economic mismanagement and bungling foreign policy.

Authorities have installed a ring of steel around the National Assembly in the capital, using shipping containers to block roads after Khan on Saturday called for supporters to take to the streets.

His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party (PTI) effectively lost its majority in the 342-member assembly last week when a coalition partner said its seven lawmakers would vote with the opposition. More than a dozen PTI lawmakers have also indicated they will cross the floor.

The Opposition needs 172 votes for the motion to succeed, but in the past parties have resorted to physically preventing lawmakers from taking part by blocking access to the national assembly, leading to cat-and-mouse chases and even accusations of kidnapping.

Khan has accused the Opposition of conspiring with "foreign powers" to remove him because he won't take the West's side on global issues against Russia and China.

Earlier this week he accused the United States of meddling in Pakistan's affairs.

The Opposition is headed by the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) -- two usually feuding dynastic groups that dominated national politics for decades until Khan forged a coalition against them.

If Khan goes, the PML-N's Shehbaz Sharif is tipped to become the next prime minister. Sharif is the younger brother of three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted in 2017 and jailed on corruption charges, but is currently in Britain after being released from prison for medical treatment.

(With inputs from agencies)