Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s man of the hour, was sworn in as the country’s 23rd prime minister tonight by acting President Sadiq Sanjrani. President Dr. Arif Alvi was unable to attend the event because he complained of difficulty this evening and was urged by physicians to relax. The prime minister, who took over from Imran Khan after his dramatic midnight vote out, raised the issue of Article 370 abrogation in Jammu and Kashmir in his inaugural speech today, alleging that the people in the Valley are bleeding and stressing that Pakistan will provide them with ‘diplomatic and moral support,’ in addition to raising the issue at all international forums.
The 70-year-old leader stated that he desires good ties with India, but that this cannot be done unless the Kashmir problem is resolved. Earlier today, 174 of the 342 legislators picked the Leader of the Opposition to the former Imran Khan administration to succeed him. Shehbaz Sharif, the brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been charged in many corruption cases, spearheaded the opposition’s no-trust motion against Imran Khan in the National Assembly.
Soon after his victory, Sharif said that virtue had triumphed over evil, dismissing his predecessor’s accusations of a ‘foreign controversy’ at the root of the country’s continuous political upheaval. ‘Drama,’ Sharif replied, dismissing the charges. He has stated that the National Security Committee of Pakistan will be updated on the contentious letter. ‘I would quit and return home if the plot is proven,’ a confident Sharif declared in Parliament after being elected Prime Minister.
Imran Khan’s Jurisdiction
Imran Khan, who surged to power in 2018 on the promise of a ‘Naya Pakistan,’ had an even more spectacular farewell, with twists at every step. Since the no-confidence resolution was tabled in parliament, the Assembly has been postponed on the day of discussion, disbanded on the day of voting, and convened again by the Supreme Court’s directions.
On Saturday, when the parliament was supposed to gather to ultimately vote on the resolution, it was repeatedly postponed until it was eventually assembled a little after midnight. As the country faced political instability, all routes leading to Islamabad were closed, airport security was strengthened, and police vehicles queued up outside the National Assembly. After two hours, Imran Khan was no longer prime minister; 174 opponents voted against him, including a few turncoats.
SHEHBAZ SHARIF: WHO IS HE?
Shehbaz Sharif, 70, is the affluent Sharif dynasty’s younger brother and the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. According to Reuters, he is most renowned for his forthright ‘can-do’ administration style, which was on show during his term as chief minister of Punjab province. Shehbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populated province, developed and oversaw a number of infrastructure mega-projects, including the country’s first modern public transportation system in Lahore.
Unlike his brother, he is known to have had cordial connections with Pakistan’s military. The Sharif political dynasty is also more favourable to India than Imran Khan has been throughout his stint as Prime Minister of Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif was born in Lahore to an affluent industrial family and received his education in the city. As a result, he joined the family business and is now a co-owner of a Pakistani steel firm. In 1997, he was elected chief minister of Punjab for the first time. In the aftermath of a military coup in 2000, he was imprisoned and exiled in Saudi Arabia.
He returned from exile in 2007 to resume his political career in Punjab, and he entered the national political scene when he became the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party after his brother Nawaz Sharif was convicted in 2017 of concealing assets related to the Panama Papers revelations. Both brothers have been involved in multiple corruption cases, however Shehbaz has yet to be proven guilty in any of them.
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