ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) chief Shehbaz Sharif was elected the 23rd Prime Minister unopposed on Monday after the candidate nominated by his predecessor Imran Khan‘s PTI, former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, announced in parliament that his party was boycotting the election and resigning en masse from the National Assembly. In his first remarks after being elected, Shehbaz prioritised a “just resolution” of the Kashmir issue and “good relations” with neighbour India, along with the challenge of mending a bruised economy.
PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq, on whom fell the task of marshalling the House through the chaos of the no-trust vote past midnight last Saturday, also presided over the election of a new PM after deputy speaker Qasim Suri said his “conscience” didn’t permit him to take up that responsibility.
Shehbaz bagged 174 votes, the exact number that ousted Imran in the no-trust vote. Qureshi drew a blank because of the walkout. PTI’s decision to get all its lawmakers to resign means byelections will be required to more than 120 seats in the 342-member National Assembly.
Shehbaz, whose family’s roots lie in the Punjab village of Jati Umra, said the new government would need to undo the alleged foreign policy mistakes of the erstwhile Imran government, including improving ties with India while pursuing the Kashmir issue. “We will raise our voice for Kashmiris on every forum. We will give them diplomatic and moral support,” he said, urging his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to acknowledge first that “there is poverty, unemployment and disease on both sides of the border”.
“Why do we want our coming generations to suffer? Come, let’s resolve the Kashmir issue in line with UN resolutions and expectations of Kashmiris, so that we are able to end poverty on both sides of the border.”
Shehbaz also underscored the importance of maintaining Pakistan’s relationship with China, alleging that the previous government attempted to weaken the friendship between Islamabad and Beijing. He mentioned ties with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the European Union nations, the UAE, Britain and Iran as the other focus areas.
The new PM said Pakistan would strengthen ties with the US on the basis of equality.
Shehbaz announced his intention to get the parliamentary committee on security to hold an in-camera briefing on the letter cited by Imran as containing proof of a threat made by a “foreign power” against his government.
“The nation should know whether they have been lied to,” the new PM said, promising to “go home” if an iota of evidence was found to support his predecessor’s conspiracy theory. “This debate should be laid to rest,” he said.
Shehbaz accused Imran of mismanaging the economy to a point that putting it back on track would be a huge challenge for his government.
The 70-year-old had served as chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, three times prior to Imran becoming PM in 2018. He is credited with making significant infrastructure improvements during his tenure.
But like his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, a three-time former PM, Shehbaz has faced corruption charges and spent time in jail during Imran’s stint. He has not been convicted of any of these offences so far.
Shehbaz’s son Hamza, who had a hearing in a money laundering case on Monday, aims to follow in his father’s footsteps and become the next CM of Punjab province.
As Shehbaz marked his run-up, Imran, who regards the Sharif and Bhutto-Zardari clans as part of the dynastic politics of old Pakistan, found comfort in snowballing protests against the dismissal of his government across cities. “Never have such crowds come out so spontaneously and in such numbers in our history, rejecting the imported govt led by crooks,” he tweeted.
Imran claims his rivals colluded with the US to remove him because of his foreign-policy stance on Russia and China. Washington has strongly contested the allegation.