Shehbaz Sharif Set To Become Pakistan’s Prime Minister For a Second Time

Senior PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif is set to become the next prime minister of Pakistan on Sunday, once again leading a coalition government, amidst allegations of vote rigging and a cash-strapped economy and a spike in terror attacks.

Shehbaz, who is the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), submitted his nomination. His challenger Omar Ayub Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) too has filed his papers, setting the stage for Sunday’s election, expected to be a one-sided one.

The PML-N president Shehbaz, 72, is the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, 74, who sprang a surprise last month after being projected as the party’s prime ministerial candidate.

Nawaz Sharif, who returned to Pakistan from London in October last year to become Pakistan’s prime minister for a record fourth time, decided against contesting as his PML-N party failed to garner enough seats in the February 8 elections to form a government on its own.

The elections, which were marred by allegations of vote rigging, saw more than 90 independent candidates backed by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s PTI winning the maximum number of seats in the 266-member National Assembly.

However, in a post-poll alliance, the Mutahhida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have all backed the PML-N’s candidate, ensuring that Shehbaz Sharif will be smoothly elected as the 33rd prime minister. Ayub, on the other hand, does not have the numbers, Geo News reported.

Voting in the National Assembly to elect the new prime minister would be held on Sunday, according to the National Assembly Secretariat.

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

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Meanwhile, Ayub on Saturday applied with National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, raising objections over the acceptance of Shehbaz’s nomination papers.

“Shehbaz was ‘gifted’ the seat due to manipulation in Form 47. As per Form 45, Shehbaz had lost,” the PTI-backed candidate for the Prime Minister’s slot,” he said in his application.

He said that Shehbaz was ineligible to become the prime minister.

Both major parties — PPP and PML-N — got their speaker and deputy speaker elected with ease in Friday’s Parliament session, with the SIC and PTI-backed candidates getting defeated.

Following the prime minister’s election, the newly-elected lawmakers will also elect a new head of the state on March 9, marking an end to the tenure of PTI-backed President Arif Alvi. Senior PPP leader and former Pakistan president Asif Ali Zardari is expected to be elected next Saturday.

Shehbaz is known as an able administrator due to the swift execution of mega-development projects while serving as chief minister of the Punjab province. However, he failed to exhibit the qualities when elevated to serve as prime minister for a 16-month stint in 2022.

He faces the menacing challenges of a fragile economy and the increasing threat of terrorism. His government would also have to face the street power of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party which had been protesting against the alleged rigging of elections.

In the February 8 polls, the Sharifs-led party failed to garner a clear majority, albeit technically, it is the largest party with 75 out of 265 seats. In a surprise move, the elder Sharif stepped back in favor of Shehbaz to allow him to lead the coalition as he is believed to have the knack of taking along diverse groups in the polarised country.

Shehbaz served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023 before Parliament was dissolved to hold general elections.

Quoting “highly placed sources,” The News International newspaper reported that President Alvi, known for his closeness to Imran Khan, has consented to administer the oath to the new prime minister.

Interestingly, President Alvi had declined – on the pretext of health problems – to administer the oath to Shehbaz Sharif in April 2022 when he became the prime minister unopposed after the ouster of the Imran Khan government through a no-confidence vote.

Source: PTI