President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday dissolved the National Assembly on Prime Minister Imran Khan's advice under Article 58 of the Constitution.
"The president of Pakistan, Dr Arif Alvi, has approved the advice of the prime minister of Pakistan to dissolve the National Assembly under the Article 58 (1) read with Article 48(1) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," according to a statement issued by the President's Secretariat.
Earlier today, Prime Minister Imran, in an address to the nation, said he had advised the president to "dissolve assemblies".
According to Article 58, "The president shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the prime minister; and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the prime minister has so advised."
The premier's announcement came moments after National Assembly Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri, who was chairing today's session, dismissed the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, terming it a contradiction of Article 5 of the Constitution, which says loyalty to the state is the basic duty of every citizen.
The government claims that the no-trust motion against the premier was a "foreign funded conspiracy", citing a 'threat letter' that was received from a foreign country through Pakistan's ambassador, asking for the removal of PM Imran.
In his address today, Prime Minister Imran congratulated the nation for the no-trust motion being dismissed, saying the deputy speaker had "rejected the attempt of changing the regime [and] the foreign conspiracy".
The premier said he had been receiving messages from many people who were worried, adding that "treason" was being committed in front of the nation. "I want to say, 'ghabrana nahi hai' (do not worry). God is watching over Pakistan."
He said he had written to the president with advice to dissolve the assemblies, adding that the democrats should go to the public and elections should be held so the people could decide who they wanted in power.
Prime Minister Imran said the "billions of rupees" that had been spent to "buy" lawmakers' votes would be wasted and advised those who had taken money to donate it to orphanages and the poor.
"Prepare for elections. No corrupt forces will decide what the future of the country will be. When the assemblies will be dissolved, the procedure for the next elections and the caretaker government will begin," he added.
Shortly afterwards, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the prime minister's advice to dissolve the National Assembly had been sent to President Dr Arif Alvi under Article 58 of the Constitution.
After Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry presented his argument, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (NA) Qasim Suri dismissed the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, declaring it "unconstitutional", an anti-climax development to weeks of planning and intense lobbying.
Suri, who was chairing the session, dismissed the motion, terming it a contradiction of Article 5 of the Constitution.
In a brief address to the nation after the NA session, Prime Minister Imran Khan said after the "unconstitutional" nature of the no-confidence motion he has advised President Dr Arif Alvi to dissolve the assemblies, and call early elections.
Khan had earlier suggested on Saturday that he might not accept a vote to oust him, a move he alleged was being orchestrated by the United States.
"How can I accept the result when the entire process is discredited?" Khan told a select group of foreign journalists at his office. "Democracy functions on moral authority - what moral authority is left after this connivance?"
"The move to oust me is blatant interference in domestic politics by the United States," he said, terming it an attempt at "regime change".
The opposition, left fuming over the development, has said that it will now pursue a legal route against the premier.
All eyes were on the National Assembly (NA) that commenced its crucial session on the no-confidence motion against Khan with both treasury and opposition engaged in planning and lobbying to foil each other's plans.
Ahead of the session, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) Marriyum Aurangzeb had confidently shared on Twitter a list of opposition MNAs who were likely to vote against the prime minister.
