Shehbaz Sharif voted in as Pakistan’s PM for second time
ISLAMABAD: Shehbaz Sharif was voted in on Sunday as Pakistan’s prime minister for a second time, presiding over a shaky alliance that has shut out followers of jailed opposition leader Imran Khan.
Newly sworn-in lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly elected Sharif by 201 votes, three weeks after national elections marred by widespread allegations of rigging.
Omar Ayub Khan stood against Sharif as the candidate of choice for MPs loyal to Khan, gaining 92 votes.
“No one has won a majority. It’s a split mandate. And it is the democratic way that if it’s a split mandate, then the like-minded parties may form a coalition government,” Sharif told parliament after being voted in.
Sharif, 72, first served as prime minister in 2022 at the head of a strikingly similar alliance which ousted ex-cricket star Khan.
Much like during his first tenure, Sharif will face an overlapping trio of crises plaguing the nation of more than 240 million.
Pakistan came to the brink of economic default during his first term, before a last-minute International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal saved the day.
Inflation remains sky-high and Sharif will be the face of unpopular belt-tightening measures likely demanded by the international lender for a new deal needed in the coming months.
“Can a nuclear-capable Pakistan sustain its existence with the burden of debts? It will sustain if we collectively decide on a deep surgery and change the system. We have to bring reforms,” he told parliament. Security has also deteriorated. Shehbaz’s brother and threetime prime minister Nawaz Sharif had been tipped to lead when PML-N expected a better showing from the elections.
But Shehbaz – considered the more pragmatic mediator, a softer personality, and the military’s favourite – stepped into the role after the result was not what they hoped for.