ISLAMABAD: A day before Pakistan’s lower house of the parliament convenes for its inaugural session, former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday threw his full weight behind younger brother Shehbaz Sharif, referring to him as the “best choice” for premiership in a country that faces overlapping security, economic and political crises.
Pakistani lawmakers are expected to take oath tomorrow, Thursday, 21 days after the controversial elections of Feb. 8 were held across the country. Polls this month resulted in a split mandate, with independent candidates backed by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party emerging as the single largest bloc in the lower house of parliament. These candidates could not contest the polls from the PTI platform after the party lost its election emblem in a legal battle.
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party hence emerged as the political party with the most number of seats, bagging 75 in total. It has joined hands with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and other allies to announce Sharif’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, as their joint candidate for prime minister.
In a meeting with the party’s newly elected members of parliament, Sharif praised his younger brother for enduring hardships during his stint as prime minister from April 2022 to August 2023, crediting him for steering Pakistan out of an economic turmoil that would have seen the country suffer a sovereign default.
“The way he went through the past one-and-a-half years, it is his bravery,” Sharif said. “If I was in his place, I may not have been able to do that. Under these circumstances, Shehbaz Sharif is the best choice [for prime minister],” he said to applause from participants.
Pakistan’s cash-strapped economy is struggling to stabilize after securing a $3 billion standby arrangement from the IMF last summer, with record inflation, rupee devaluation and shrinking foreign reserves. Analysts say the new government is likely to need more funds from the global lender after the standby arrangement expires in April.
“Your next one-and-a-half to two years will be a bit difficult, I feel,” Sharif warned. “During this difficulty, we have to remain like this [gestures for unity] like one, and have to compete with our opponents,” he added.
Sharif’s comments come amid political uncertainty in the country, with the PTI calling for nationwide protests on Saturday to protest against alleged irregularities in this month’s polls.
Khan’s party has accused Pakistan’s election regulator of manipulating the results of the Feb. 8 polls to benefit the PPP and PML-N. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) and the caretaker government have rejected Khan’s allegations, and advised the party to seek redressal from relevant forums.
Pakistan’s national election was marred by a nationwide shutdown of mobile phone networks, which the government said was done as the run-up to elections was marred by attacks on rallies, election offices and candidates. Twenty-eight people were killed in a number of attacks in the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces on election eve.
Other political parties such as the Jamiat Ulama-e-Pakistan (JUI), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) and others have also accused the ECP of rigging polls and held demonstrations in various parts of the country.
Ahead of inaugural parliament meeting, ex-PM Sharif backs brother as ‘best choice’ to lead Pakistan
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Ahead of inaugural parliament meeting, ex-PM Sharif backs brother as ‘best choice’ to lead Pakistan
- Shehbaz Sharif is the joint PM candidate of an alliance headed by his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party
- Pakistan’s inaugural National Assembly session will be held on Feb. 29, 21 days after the Feb. 8 controversial elections
