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Pakistan's embattled Prime Minister Imran Khan was accused of "high treason" after he avoided an attempt to oust him from office and sought fresh elections.
President Arif Alvi, a member of Khan's ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, approved Khan's request to dissolve parliament on Sunday.
That came after the deputy speaker of parliament, also a member of Khan's party, blocked an opposition no-confidence motion that Khan was widely expected to lose.
The move deepened the nation's political turmoil, with the opposition challenging the deputy speaker's authority to throw out the no-confidence vote, saying it had the numbers to oust Khan.
Umar Ata Bandial, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, has convened a hearing into the constitutional question for Sunday.
Shehbaz Sharif, the opposition leader and the frontrunner to replace Khan if he were removed, denounced the blocking of the vote as "nothing short of high treason."
"There will be consequences for blatant & brazen violation of the Constitution," he said in a post on Twitter, adding that he hoped the Supreme Court would play its role in upholding the Constitution.
Khan on Twitter said he was "astonished by the reaction of [Pakistan Democratic Movement] to our calling for general elections."
He wrote: "They have been crying hoarse abt how our govt has failed & lost support of the ppl so why the fear of elections now? Democrats go to the ppl for support.
"Isn't it better for PDM to accept elections rather than being part of a foreign conspiracy for regime change; and indulging in blatant purchasing of loyalties thereby destroying our nation's moral fibre?"
The opposition blames Khan, a cricket star turned conservative Islamic leader, for failing to revive Pakistan's economy and crack down on corruption.
But Khan has accused his political opposition of working with the United States to overthrow his government.
In a televised address to the nation on Thursday, Khan said that the U.S. wants "me, personally, gone... and everything would be forgiven."
According to The Associated Press, Khan had claimed Washington was opposed to his criticism of the U.S. war on terror and his refusal to allow Pakistan to be used for "over-the-horizon" U.S. missions against terror targets in Afghanistan, now ruled by the Taliban.
Ned Price, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department, told Bloomberg that there was "no truth" to the allegations.
"We are closely following developments in Pakistan, and we respect, we support Pakistan's constitutional process and the rule of law," he said.
About the writer
Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on education and national news. Khaleda ... Read more