Pakistani  lawmakers clashed angrily in the national assembly Saturday ahead of a no-confidence vote on Prime Minister Imran Khan that will likely see him booted from office.

The session was adjourned for a second time late Saturday afternoon, with lawmakers told to return in the evening after breaking their Ramadan fast.

Khan, who was not present, has lost his majority in the 342-seat assembly through defections by coalition partners and members of his own party, and the opposition needs just 172 votes to dismiss him.

There is no vote for a new prime minister on the agenda, but that could change, and Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif is the candidate.

Khan will summon an emergency Cabinet session at 9:00 p.m., local media outlet Geo News reported.

The 69-year-old said late Friday he had accepted a Supreme Court ruling that ordered the no-confidence vote, but insisted he was victim of a "regime change" conspiracy involving the United States.

Khan, a former international cricket star, said he would not cooperate with any incoming administration and called on his supporters to take to the streets.

A heavy security blanket was thrown over the capital Saturday, with thousands of police on the streets and a ring of steel containers blocking access to the government enclave.

The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Khan acted illegally by dissolving parliament and calling fresh elections after the deputy speaker of the national assembly refused to allow an earlier no-confidence vote because of "foreign interference."

Khan said the PML-N and the Pakistan People's Party had conspired with Washington to bring the no-confidence vote because of his opposition to U.S. foreign policy, particularly in Muslim nations such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

With reference to the defections, he also accused the opposition of buying support in the assembly with "open horse-trading ... selling of lawmakers like goats and sheep."

"I was disappointed with the Supreme Court decision but I want to make it clear that I respect the Supreme Court and Pakistan's judiciary," he said.

"There is a conspiracy from abroad," Khan said. "This is a very serious allegation ... that a foreign country conspired to topple an entire government."

Washington has denied any involvement.

No prime minister in Pakistan has completed a full five-year term since the country's independence in 1947.

(With input from AFP)

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