Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif on Monday (March 4, 2024) took oath as the Prime Minister of the financially struggling nation, ending a political crisis that was created following the national polls, after none of the contesting political parties secured the majority votes needed to form government.
President Arif Alvi administered his oath to office.
The country’s national assembly on Sunday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the 24th elected prime minister of the country.
The election process was held amid a ruckus created by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC).
“Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has been elected prime minister with 201 votes. [While] Omar Ayub obtained 92 votes,” announced Speaker Ayaz Sadiq as quoted by Geo News.
Omer Ayub Khan was fielded as a PTI-backed candidate.
Sharif held the post of PM after PTI chief Imran Khan was ousted from power in 2022.
Sharif was in power till August when the country’s parliament was dissolved ahead of polls.
Pakistan has been ruled by a caretaker government since then.
After his election, Sharif promised to ‘steer Pakistan’ back to the shore as the nation continued to struggle financially.
“There are talented people sitting in this Parliament who can steer Pakistan’s ship to the shore […] these include journalists, intellectuals, politicians, religious leaders,” Sharif was quoted as saying by Dawn News.
“If we come together and decide to change the fate of Pakistan […] then God willing, we will defeat these challenges and take Pakistan to its rightful position,” he said.
Sharif held the coalition government together after ex-PM Imran Khan’s ouster from power.
He is also credited with helping Pakistan secure a last-gasp International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout last year.
