Shehbaz Sharif: The man tipped to become the next Pakistan PM

His brother Nawaz Sharif is self-exiled in London after being convicted in a graft case he calls politically motivated

As Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan faces pressure to quit ahead of the no-confidence vote, leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif, is emerging as the likely candidate to replace him.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said Shehbaz Sharif will soon become the prime minister as Khan “has now lost majority” in the National Assembly (NA).

But, who is Shehbaz Sharif? Shehbaz, brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif, has been the leader of the opposition in the NA since August 2018.

He was elected to the Punjab provincial assembly in 1988, and to the NA in 1990. He was again elected to the Punjab assembly in 1993 and named leader of the opposition. He was elected as chief minister for the first time in 1997.

After a military coup deposed the national government in 1999, Shehbaz along with his family spent years of self-exile in Saudi Arabia and returned to Pakistan in 2007. He was appointed the CM of Punjab for a second term after the PML-N’s victory in the province in the 2008 general elections.

He was elected as the CM of Punjab for the third time in 2013 and served his term until his party’s defeat in the 2018 general elections.

Shehbaz was nominated as the PML-N president after his brother Nawaz was disqualified from holding office.

In December 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seized 23 properties of Shehbaz and his son Hamza Sharif, accusing them of money laundering. In September 2020, the NAB arrested Shehbaz at the Lahore high court and indicted him on charges of money laundering. He was incarcerated pending trial. In April last year, the Lahore high court released him on bail in the money-laundering case.

Shehbaz has vowed to improve ties with the US and European Union if he becomes PM. He has said the army has been staying neutral ahead of the confidence vote, a notable claim given his older brother was ousted in a 1999 coup, Bloomberg reported.