Pakistan’s newly-elected PM Shehbaz Sharif thanks brother Nawaz, allies for putting their trust in him

PTI

Islamabad, March 3

Pakistan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday thanked his allies in the coalition government for putting their trust in him and making him Leader of the House.

“When my Quaid (leader Nawaz) was elected the prime minister thrice, the development that followed in the country is an example of its own. And it is not wrong to say that Nawaz Sharif is the one who built Pakistan,” Shehbaz said in his victory speech.

The 72-year-old PML-N president thanked his elder brother Nawaz and all the allies for putting their trust in him and making him Leader of the House.

Shehbaz, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes in the 336-member house.

Shehbaz’s challenger Omar Ayub Khan of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured 92 votes.

“There are talented people sitting in this Parliament who can steer Pakistan's ship to the shore […] these include journalists, intellectuals, politicians, religious leaders,” he said.

Shehbaz said Pakistan had a big challenge and opportunity before it. “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.

He highlighted that this job was difficult but not impossible. “Back to the good old days of development! Onwards and upwards. Nawaz Ka vision, Shehbaz Ka mission,” the PML-N said in a post on X along with a picture of both the leaders.

“The other name of deliverance is MUHAMMAD SHEHBAZ SHARIF,” it said in another post.

The session of the new parliament was convened amid ruckus and sloganeering by PTI-backed lawmakers.

In his speech, Shehbaz also said that the nation would always remember the sacrifices of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the maternal grandfather of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

He said that his elder brother has never even thought of harming the country, unlike his opponents. “They put the entire opposition behind bars, they didn't care about women or children and used language that cannot be said out loud,” he said, referring to the Imran Khan-led government.

“This is the difference between this leadership and that leadership […] the entire assembly is witness to the fact that we never thought of the politics of revenge.

“Never was once a pot broken, nor was any building ever damaged […] but it shameful that the country saw a day when GHQ, corps commander houses, air fields were attacked on May 9,” Shehbaz said, adding that such sights are unforgettable.

As Shehbaz spoke, PTI-backed lawmakers chanted slogans of ‘thief' from the opposition benches. Shehbaz will be administered the oath of office on Monday at the Presidential mansion, Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Shehbaz earlier served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023 before Parliament was dissolved to hold general elections.

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