Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan

Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif took oath as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan on Monday evening hours after being elected by the National Assembly of the country.

Prime Minister-elect Shehbaz Sharif was administered the oath by the Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani after President Arif Alvi fell ill.

Shehbaz Sharif, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former leader of the Opposition, was elected the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly of the country earlier today.

"Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has secured 174 votes," announced PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq, who was chairing the session after the resignation of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri ahead of the vote.

Ahead of the voting, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legislators resigned en masse from the National Assembly and walked out of the National Assembly after a speech by former Foreign Minister and PTI candidate for prime ministerial post, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

The younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was set to grab the top post after former Prime Minister Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was ousted from power following the no-confidence motion against the regime.

The voting on the no-confidence motion had resulted in the Imran Khan-led government losing with 174 votes in favour of the no-confidence motion.

Sharif's candidature as the Opposition's choice for the Prime Ministership was revealed by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari during a joint press conference of the opposition parties on March 30.

He was elected as the Prime Minister in the same National Assembly session which saw the ouster of Imran Khan, in accordance with the order of the Pakistan Supreme Court.

Pakistan's Supreme Court in a historic judgement on Thursday had called for the convening of the session of the National Assembly "not later than 10:30 AM on Saturday" after setting aside the April 3 ruling of the Deputy Speaker Qasim Khan Suri against the no-confidence motion on "Constitutional grounds".

Declaring the ruling of the Deputy Speaker "to be contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect", the Court set aside all the subsequent steps taken, including the dissolution of the National Assembly, while also restoring Prime Minister Imran Khan and all the Federal Ministers to their respective positions as of April 3.

The court also fixed the Saturday session with the conditions that the session cannot be prorogued unless the motion is voted upon, and in case Imran Khan loses the no-trust vote, the next PM had to be elected in the same session.

Like his elder brother, Shehbaz Sharif also faces serious corruption charges. In December 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) froze 23 properties belonging to Shehbaz Sharif and his son, Hamza, accusing them of money laundering.

He was arrested by the NAB in the same case in September 2020 and incarcerated pending trial. In April 2021, the Lahore High Court released him on bail in the money laundering case.

The factors favouring the younger Sharif, however, include the Opposition unity against Imran Khan's 'vindictive politics' as well as the tacit support of the military establishment, which seems to be keen to unseat Imran Khan from power, especially after his recent vitriolic comments against the US, including raising the foreign conspiracy charge.

With the Sharif family back in power in Pakistan amid the fast-deteriorating economic situation and political instability, it is to be seen if Shehbaz Sharif infuses fresh energy into the system, or the much-tainted family continues to resort to its old ways.

(ANI)