Shehbaz Sharif elected Pakistan’s 24th elected PM

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shehbaz Sharif was elected as Pakistan’s 24th prime minister (PM) on Sunday.

Shehbaz Sharif secured 201 votes while his Sunni Ittehad Council’s (SIC) opponent Omar Ayub Khan secured 92 votes.

The session chaired by National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, began with the oath-taking of PML-N’s Jam Kamal.

As soon as the session began, SIC lawmakers chanted slogans to record their protest while holding PTI founder’s pictures.

Shehbaz Sharif was jointly backed by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, and Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP).

Sources said that the swearing-in ceremony will be held on March 4 at 3 pm in the President’s House while President Dr Arif Alvi will administer the oath to the new prime minister.

Ishaq Dar, Hanif Abbasi, and Khursheed Shah submitted the documents on behalf of Shehbaz Sharif. Seven MNAs are proposers and seven others are seconders for the former PM’s nomination papers.

Meanwhile, nomination papers of Omar Ayub Khan were proposed by MNAs Barrister Gohar Ali Khan, Asad Qaiser, Riaz Khan Fatyana, Umair Khan Niazi, and seconded by MNAs Mohammad Sanaullah Khan Mastikhel, Ali Khan Jadoon, Mujahid Ali, and Malik Mohammad Amir Dogar.

Pakistan People’s Party and PML-N got their speaker and deputy speaker elected with ease in Friday’s session, defeating the SIC and PTI-backed candidates.

Following the prime minister’s election, the newly-elected lawmakers of the National Assembly will also elect a new head of the state on March 9, marking an end to the tenure of PTI-backed President Arif Alvi.