Pakistani lawmakers elected Shahbaz Sharif as the new prime minister

Pakistan's parliament on Monday elected opposition legislator Shahbaz Sharif as the country's new prime minister, following a strike by legislators from the party of ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan.

Sharif was the only contender. He is the brother of disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but his election will not guarantee a peaceful path forward, nor will it solve Pakistan's many economic problems, including high inflation and a dizzying energy crisis.

Shahbaz Sharif was elected with 174 votes in his favor after more than 100 lawmakers from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Pakistan's Justice Party, from Khan, staged a strike in the National Assembly in protest.

“Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif is declared prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan”, announced the acting speaker, Asad Sadiq.

The former opposition will now have a truncated house with a small majority of 174 legislators, which is enough to pass laws in the 342-seat assembly. However, if Khan's supporters take to the streets, as he announced, it would create additional pressure on Parliament and deepen the crisis.

Khan, a former cricket star whose conservative Islamist ideology and stubborn independence characterized his three years and eight months in office, was dismissed early Sunday after losing a motion of censure in parliament. Abandoned by her party's allies and a key coalition partner, the opposition expelled Khan with 174 votes, two more than the simple majority required.

In a demonstration of strength and a precursor to the political uncertainty ahead, Khan gathered hundreds of thousands of supporters on Sunday night to protest his overthrow and described the next government as an “imposed government.” In cities across Pakistan, Khan's supporters marched waving big party flags and pledging support. The young people, who form the backbone of Khan's followers, dominated the crowd.

Some cried, others shouted slogans promising Khan's return.

Khan also demanded early elections: voting should not take place before August 2023. He has taken advantage of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, accusing Washington of conspiring with his opponents to overthrow him. His conspiracy theory resonates with his young support base, who often sees Washington's post-9/11 war on terror as unfairly targeting Pakistan.

Pakistan's political drama began on April 3 when Khan evaded an initial vote of no confidence demanded by the opposition by dissolving Parliament and calling early elections. The opposition, which accuses Khan of economic mismanagement, appealed to the Supreme Court. After four days of deliberations, the court ordered the reinstatement of Parliament and the motion of censure went ahead. A marathon parliamentary session began on Saturday and Khan was expelled early Sunday.

Khan claims that the opposition colluded with Washington to overthrow him, allegedly because of his independent foreign policy favoring China and Russia. He was also criticized for a February 24 visit to Moscow, where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russian tanks entered Ukraine.

The US State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistan's domestic politics.

The opposition coalition is made up of parties that cross the political divide, from the left to the radicals. The two most important parties are the Pakistan Muslim League, headed by Shahbaz Sharif, and the Pakistan People's Party, co-chaired by the son and husband of murdered former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

In Pakistan, a few rich and powerful families have dominated politics for decades, alternating power more frequently between the camps of Sharif and Bhutto. Both political houses have been accused and sometimes convicted of widespread corruption, and both have denied the accusations.

Nawaz Sharif was removed by the Supreme Court in 2015 after being convicted in connection with financial irregularities revealed in the so-called Panama Papers, a collection of leaked secret financial documents that show how some of the richest in the world hide their money and involve a global law firm based in Panama. He was disqualified by the Supreme Court of Pakistan from holding office.

Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's husband who served as president of Pakistan after the 2008 elections, has spent more than seven years in prison, convicted of corruption charges.

Both families have dismissed the corruption accusations against them as politically motivated. Khan came to power in 2018, promising to break the family rule in Pakistan, but his opponents claimed that he won the elections with the help of the powerful army, which has ruled Pakistan for half of the country's 75-year history.

Nawaz Sharif was also overthrown in 1999, in a military coup, and Benazir Bhutto's government was overthrown several times after the military sided with its opposition. In Pakistani politics, where loyalties are often fluid, Bhutto's fiercest opposition often came from Sharif's party.

Shahbaz Sharif has served three times as prime minister of the province of Punjab, the largest and most influential province in Pakistan, where 60 per cent of the country's 220 million inhabitants live. His son Hamza was elected by the Punjab provincial parliament last week as the new prime minister, displacing Khan's candidate. Khan's party is challenging that election and young Sharif has not yet taken the oath.

(With information from AP)

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