NewsGate Press Network

Shehbaz Sharif is the new prime minister of Pakistan.

Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif who is also currently the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, was elected unopposed as the new prime minister of Pakistan.

His formal election took place in Pakistan’s parliament known as the National Assembly on Monday the 11th of April 2022 after rival candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party will boycott the voting and staged a walkout from the voting chamber.

After that Shehbaz, 70, was the only candidate left in the race.

In the house of 342 in the Pak’s National Assembly, the winning candidate should get support of at least 172 lawmakers to form the government.

Shehbaz received 174 votes – two more than the simple majority of 172.

He is the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan.

Thrice he has served as chief minister of the Pakistan’s most populous and politically crucial Punjab province thrice.

Former president and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) co-chair Asif Ali Zardari had proposed Shehbaz’s name for prime minister’s position in a joint opposition’s meeting to replace Imran Khan through a no-confidence motion.

The process of electing the new leader of the House began on Sunday after prime minister Imran Khan was removed from office through the no-confidence vote, becoming the first premier in the country’s history to be sent home after losing the trust of the House.

Pakistan has been struggling with chaotic periods of political instability since its formation in 1947 with multiple regime changes and military coups.

It is a matter of fact that till date no prime minister in Pakistan has ever completed his or her full five-year term.