Pakistan, First Published Apr 11, 2022, 7:04 AM IST
Karachi: Supporters of Imran Khan start agitation in Pakistan. The protest took to the streets. Pro-Imran demonstrations are taking place in 12 cities, including Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore. Meanwhile, Imran Khan is planning to force the resignation of all party MPs. Imran Khan was ousted by a no-confidence motion. Imran Khan’s first reaction following stepping down as Prime Minister of Pakistan is that the freedom struggle is resuming in Pakistan.
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Shahbaz Sharif, the joint opposition candidate, is expected to be elected prime minister.
Meanwhile, PTI leader and former Information Minister Fahad Chowdhury has threatened to resign en masse if Shahbaz Sharif’s nomination is not rejected. Shehbaz Sharif is reportedly trying to become the next prime minister ahead of a court ruling in a money laundering case.
Mia Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif is the president of the Nawaz faction of the Pakistan Muslim League. He is currently the Leader of the Opposition in the Pakistan National Assembly. Prior to this, he was the Chief Minister of Punjab Province three times.
Born in 1951 in Lahore. Brother of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. When Nawaz was active in politics, Shahbaz’s focus was on running a family – owned steel factory, the Itifak Group. Nawaz Sharif was accused of amassing huge sums of money through politics. Shehbaz left the business in 1988 to enter politics. That was the year he won the Punjab Provincial Assembly. Shehbaz first entered the National Assembly in 1990 and became Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly in 1993. In 1997, he became the first Chief Minister of Punjab Province.
During the 1999 military coup, Shehbaz fled with his family to Saudi Arabia for his life. Shehbaz, who returned to Pakistan in 2007 following eight years of exile, first became the Chief Minister of Punjab in 2008 and later in 2013. Shehbaz Sharif is the longest-serving chief minister of the province. But the opposition has accused Shehbaz of being the most corrupt chief minister Punjab has ever seen.
Shahbaz has been in the shadow of allegations since he became the chief minister. Within a year of taking office in 1998, he was accused of ordering police to kill five madrassa students in an encounter. Sharif denies the allegations then and now. Shahbaz Sharif’s name was on it when the Panama Papers were leaked. The Panama Papers reported that eight offshore companies were affiliated with Shehbaz Sharif.
In 2019, the National Accountability Bureau of Pakistan revealed that 23 illegal assets worth crores were in the name of Shahbaz Sharif and his son. Shahbaz was arrested by the NAB on charges of money laundering and was lodged in a Lahore jail for six months. But the sheriff’s family said the allegations were politically motivated.
Despite so many allegations, Shahbaz Sharif is one of the main voices of the Pakistani opposition today. Shahbaz now controls a crucial 84 seats in the Pakistan National Assembly. Shahbaz’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz is also the most influential party in the opposition. That is why his name was nominated for the PM’s job.
What remains at this stage is the question of whether Shahbaz Sharif deserves to replace Imran Khan as Prime Minister. Like any other Pakistani political leader, Shahbaz Sharif is tainted with allegations of corruption. However, despite being the Chief Minister of Punjab for three terms, Shahbaz’s performance was better than that of the other three provinces. Until now, the Pakistani military has not been unpopular, and all these are positive factors for Shahbaz. Moreover, Shehbaz Sharif has warm relations with foreign countries, especially China and Turkey.
Whatever the personal / political past, the incumbent Prime Minister of Pakistan has always been a puppet of the military. So now that Imran Khan has been replaced by Shahbaz Sharif, things are sure to go the way the military commanders in Rawalpindi have decided.
Last Updated Apr 11, 2022, 7:04 AM IST