Pakistan’s parliament elected opposition leader Shahbaz Sharif as the new prime minister. The 70-year-old Sharif was the most likely candidate to succeed Imran Khan who was sacked. The latter was sacked after a vote of no confidence.
The new prime minister is the younger brother of Nawaz Sharif, who served as prime minister of Pakistan for three terms. Sharif previously held the position of prime minister in the Punjab province. He is now in the process of forming a new government. There will be elections again next August.
In a speech to Parliament, Sharif said he wanted to address the economic distress in his country. The value of the Pakistani rupee has never been this low. “To prevent the boat from sinking, we all have to work hard and unite,” he told Parliament. “Today we are entering a new era of development.”
look outside
Sharif also wants a better relationship with neighboring India. But he says a solution must be found to the bloody conflict in the northern region of Kashmir. Both countries claim the area.
Sharif also wants to speed up China’s plans to invest in the Pakistani economy. Pakistan is one of the countries in which China invests. China’s New Silk Road includes China’s investment in more than 70 countries. In this way, China wants to increase its economic power.
Sharif also wants to improve relations with the United States and strengthen ties with the European Union.
Khan’s voice
Khan, 69, who has been prime minister since 2018, was expelled from parliament last week after a vote of no confidence. A week earlier, the government fell and Khan asked to dissolve parliament and call new elections. The vote of no confidence was floated last month, but Khan did everything he could to avoid the vote.
Before a vote in Parliament on a new prime minister, all of Khan’s party MPs resigned in protest. Former Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also resigned. For Khan’s party, he was the candidate for the new prime minister’s post.
popularity declined
The former cricketer became a national sports hero when he was awarded the world title in 1992 as captain of the Pakistan cricket team. During his reign, Khan became less popular, due to his economic policies.
No Pakistani Prime Minister has fully served his or her term of office. However, this is the first time since the nation’s founding in 1947 that a prime minister has resigned through a vote of no confidence.
