Shehbaz Sharif: Following a walkout by lawmakers from ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, Pakistan’s Parliament elected Opposition lawmaker Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new Prime Minister on Monday.
Mr. Shehbaz Sharif was the only one who could win. His election will not guarantee a clear path forward — or solve Pakistan’s many economic problems, such as high inflation and a soaring energy crisis. He is the brother of disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
After more than 100 lawmakers from Mr. Khan’s party staged a walkout of the National Assembly in protest, Shahbaz Sharif was elected with 174 votes. “Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif has been declared Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” said Asad Sadiq, the acting speaker.
Mr. Khan, a former cricketer who became a conservative Islamist politician, was deposed early on Sunday after his party allies and a key coalition partner deserted him. Khan was defeated by the opposition with 174 votes, two more than the required simple majority in the National Assembly’s 342-seat chamber.
On Monday, just minutes after the Pakistan National Assembly session to elect a new Prime Minister began, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Prime Minister candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that his party would boycott the election.
Former Foreign Minister Qureshi took the floor and stated that the country has two paths: one of self-respect and the other of slavery.
He thanked Khan for putting his faith in him by nominating him, and he said the constitutional process must conclude today because some will be declared winners, while others will be declared “free.”
Mr. Qureshi said at the end of his speech that his party would boycott the election of the new premier, and PTI lawmakers staged a walkout. Shehbaz Sharif, the opposition candidate and president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and Mr. Qureshi were competing for the position of new premier.
Shehbaz Sharif became PM
Mr. Shehbaz Sharif , 70, is the only remaining candidate in the race and is expected to be the next Prime Minister.
Minutes before the session began, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry announced that all PTI lawmakers would resign from the National Assembly and refuse to join any government formed on the basis of a “foreign agenda” – a reference to Mr. Khan’s claim that the US was involved in a plot to destabilise his government.
He said the decision was made in a meeting of the party’s lawmakers ahead of the Prime Minister’s elections, in which Mr. Qureshi has been nominated as the party’s candidate.
Following the historic vote of no-confidence by the joint Opposition, the Cabinet division de-notified 52 members of the federal Cabinet on Sunday. After the PTI’s objections were rejected, the National Assembly Secretariat accepted Mr. Shehbaz’s nomination papers. The nomination papers for Mr. Qureshi were also accepted.
The election of the Prime Minister is the only item on the National Assembly’s agenda for Monday, according to the house’s secretariat. Mr. Shehbaz’s candidacy had been challenged by senior PTI leader Babar Awan, who claimed that the PML-N chief was facing several court cases. Mr. Shehbaz and his son, Hamza Sharif, were arrested in 2019 on suspicion of money laundering by the National Accountability Bureau.
The process of electing a new leader of the house began on Sunday, following Mr. Khan’s removal from office following a no-confidence vote, making him the first prime minister in the country’s history to be sent home after losing the House’s confidence. Since its founding in 1947, Pakistan has experienced multiple regime changes and military coups, resulting in political instability. There has never been a Prime Minister who has served the entire five-year term.