Who is Shehbaz Sharif, ‘accidental’ prime minister to lead debt-ridden Pakistan for 2nd time

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party leader Shehbaz Sharif was elected as prime minister of Pakistan.

The Pakistan National Assembly elected 72-year-old Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif as the 24th prime minister.

Chosen as the consensus candidate of PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Shehbaz secured 201 votes, surpassing the 169 needed in the 336-member Parliament. Imran Khan-backed candidate Omar Ayub Khan received 92 votes.

Earlier, the house elected Ayaz Sadiq, Sharif’s nominee, as speaker on Friday.

Shehbaz will be administered the oath of office on Monday at the Presidential mansion, Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Who is Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s new prime minister?

• Shehbaz Sharif, born on September 23, 1951, in Lahore, Punjab, comes from the influential Sharif family, a dominant force in Pakistani politics.

• He received his education from Government College, Lahore, and later pursued a law degree from the University of Punjab.

• Shehbaz entered politics in the 1980s, rising swiftly through the ranks of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), founded by his brother Nawaz Sharif and their father.

• Serving multiple terms as the chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, he built a reputation as a competent administrator.

• He played a crucial role in maintaining a coalition of disparate parties for 16 months after Imran Khan was voted out of office in 2022.

• Sharif first served as prime minister in 2022, in the absence of his elder brother and PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif, in a similar alliance that ousted ex-cricket star Imran Khan. He remained PM for 16 months before being replaced by the caretaker government for general elections.

• Leading efforts to prevent Pakistan from defaulting, Shehbaz secured a $3 billion loan programme in his 16-month stint as PM, before being replaced by caretaker government for general elections. He implemented tough measures like removing subsidies and raising energy prices.

• His nomination for the prime ministerial role was unexpected, especially after Nawaz Sharif’s return from exile to contest the election.

• Shehbaz is widely perceived to maintain favourable relations with the military, suggesting a potential influence on key decisions behind the scenes.

Shehbaz to lead a shaky alliance

Nawaz Sharif gave the first vote for Shehbaz in the prime ministerial election. PTI criticised Nawaz Sharif that he could have gracefully accepted defeat.

Shehbaz received support from PPP, MQM-P, PML (Q), Balochistan Awami Party, PML (Z), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and the National Party, even as PTI-backed lawmakers cried vote rigging.

Tough job for Sharif

Sharif is set to confront a trio of intertwined crises in the nation of over 24 crore people.

During his first term, Pakistan teetered on the brink of economic default, narrowly averted by a last-minute deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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The country is grappling with persistently high inflation, and Sharif is expected to lead the implementation of unpopular measures, likely mandated by the IMF for a forthcoming agreement.

Additionally, security conditions have worsened, with Islamabad attributing a surge in attacks to the Taliban’s resurgence in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.

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