Pakistan: Opposition officially nominates Shehbaz Sharif as joint PM candidate
The Opposition parties in Pakistan on Sunday officially nominated the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz's (PML-N) President, Shehbaz Sharif, as their joint candidate ahead of the prime ministerial election on Monday, reported the country's ARY News. Sharif's nomination for the top post came hours after cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan was ousted as the prime minister after he lost a no-confidence vote in Pakistan's 342-member National Assembly.
Why does this story matter?
To note, with his defeat in the no-trust vote, which concluded in the early hours of Sunday, Khan became the first prime minister in Pakistan's history to be removed through a no-confidence vote. The vote came after Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday overturned the dismissal of the no-trust motion by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri last Sunday and reconstituted the Assembly terming the actions "unconstitutional."
After nomination, Sharif expressed gratitude on Twitter
Following his nomination, Sharif took to Twitter to express gratitude to Opposition party leaders and his brother—ex-PM Nawaz Sharif—among others. "Special thanks to media, civil society, lawyers, my Quaid Nawaz Sharif, Asif Zardari, Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, Bilawal Bhutto, Khalid Maqbool, Khalid Magsi, Mosin Dawar, Ali Wazir, Amir Haider Hoti & leaders & workers of all political parties for standing up for the Constitution!" he tweeted.
Who is Shehbaz Sharif?
Notably, PML-N chief Sharif, born in 1951, is the younger brother of former three-time Pakistani PM Nawaz. He is an alumnus of Government College University, Lahore, and had previously served three terms as the chief minister of Pakistan's crucial Punjab province. He was elected the PML-N's President in 2018 and became a Member of the National Assembly for the first time the same year.
This is the first time Nawaz agreed on nominating Sharif
It's worth noting that this is the first time Sharif's party, the PML-N, and its former president Nawaz have nominated his name as a prime ministerial candidate. Interestingly, it was Asif Ali Zardari—former Pakistani President and Co-chairperson of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)—had earlier endorsed Sharif for the top post. If no other candidate runs against Sharif, he will be elected without any opposition.
Sharif to become PM despite corruption charges against him?
Sharif became PML-N's chief without opposition in 2018 after Nawaz was found guilty in the Panama Papers case in 2017. Sharif, too—like his brother—faces corruption accusations and was arrested in 2020 on charges of laundering. But the Opposition's unity against Khan and the military establishment's alleged tacit support to ouster Khan likely worked in Sharif's favor to become the frontrunner for the top post.
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