Pakistan political crisis live news: Supreme Court likely to rule

• Pakistan’s top court hopes to wrap up on Thursday a hearing on Prime Minister Imran Khan’s obstruction of an opposition bid to remove him, a manoeuvre his critics say was unconstitutional.
• Former cricket star Khan lost his parliamentary majority last week and was on the verge of being forced from office by a no-confidence vote tabled by the opposition on Sunday.
• But the deputy speaker of parliament threw out the motion, ruling it was part of a foreign conspiracy and unconstitutional. Khan then dissolved parliament.
• The standoff has thrown the country of 220 million people, ruled by the military for extended periods since independence in 1947, into a full-blown constitutional crisis.

Here are the latest updates:

14 mins ago (04:47 GMT)

‘Pakistan and the constitution demand justice’

The opposition Pakistan’s Peoples Party (PPP) leaders say they expect the top court to do justice and restore the National Assembly.

“It’s the fifth day that constitution is suspended in our country,” former deputy speaker Faisal Karim Kundi told reporters outside the Supreme Court.

“Pakistan and the constitution demand justice,” said PPP leader and Senator Sherry Rehman.

Rehman said the names of Imran Khan’s cabinet should be put on the Exit Control List (ECL) so that they are not able to leave the country and face accountability.

41 mins ago (04:20 GMT)

Fourth day of hearing in Supreme Court

The top court is due to reconvene on Thursday for a fourth day at 9:30 am (0430 GMT).

The opposition has challenged the decision to block the vote in the Supreme Court, which began deliberating the case on Monday.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial said on Wednesday he wanted to wrap up the hearing.

“Let’s start early from tomorrow to conclude the case,” he said at the end of a session in which defence lawyers offered a justification for Khan’s actions.