Pakistan ex-PM Sharif’s daughter wins new post

The eldest daughter and close aide of Pakistan’s former premier Nawaz Sharif on Monday became the South Asian country’s first-ever female chief minister in eastern Punjab province, prompting her rivals to accuse authorities of nepotism and boycotted the session of the provincial assembly.

Maryam Nawaz, 50, became chief minister in a 220-0 vote in her favor, beating out rival Rana Aftab, nominated by the Sunni Ittehad Council and an ally of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan. Opposition lawmakers supporting Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022, boycotted the 371-member Punjab Assembly session on Monday.

Nawaz was later sworn in at the provincial governor’s sprawling office in the eastern city of Lahore, her father seen next to her, along with other family members, during the televised ceremony.

Aftab said Nawaz’s election was premature as some seats in the assembly reserved for women and minorities were yet to be announced. Her appointment, he added, is “yet another case of nepotism as her family is known for picking relatives and friends to top positions whenever it comes into power.”

One of Nawaz’s cousins, Hamza Shehbaz, had also served as chief minister in Punjab.

Her appointment was largely expected following the February 8 parliamentary elections in which her father’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly — the lower chamber of the country’s parliament — and in the Punjab Assembly.

The PML-N, which was initially trailing candidates representing Khan supporters, emerged last Friday as the largest single winner in the election after receiving 24 additional seats — 20 from out of the 60 seats reserved for women and four out of 10 reserved for minorities. Nine independent members have also joined the PML-N.

The PML-N is now heading into a coalition with the Pakistan People’s Party with Nawaz’s uncle, former prime minister Shahbaz Sharif, on a firm path to becoming prime minister again.

The Sharifs are one of the top families that have dominated Pakistani politics for decades. Nawaz Sharif, who served three times as premier, was ousted in 2017. His successor Khan granted him permission to travel to London for medical treatment following a court order.

Sharif came back to Pakistan from self-imposed exile abroad and returned to politics ahead of the elections. In her father’s absence, Nawaz had led political campaigns and taken over his work.