Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has urged the president to dissolve parliament and call fresh elections following an opposition attempt to remove him from office.
It follows chaos in parliament over a no-confidence move against him.
Parliament’s deputy speaker refused to hold a vote on the motion which the PM was expected to lose.
Mr Khan has alleged the attempt against him is part of an international conspiracy orchestrated by the US.
The BBC’s Secunder Kermani says prime minister is widely regarded as having come to power with the help of Pakistan’s army, but now observers say they have fallen out.
His political opponents seized the opportunity, after persuading a number of his coalition partners to defect to them.
Mr Khan alleges US officials have warned Pakistani diplomats that the prime minister must be removed from power because of his foreign policy decisions, such as recently visiting Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin and his previous criticism of America’s “War on Terror”.
Opposition politicians ridicule the allegation, and the US has denied there is any truth to it.
