Shehbaz Sharif on March 3 became the Prime Minister of Pakistan for a second time to lead a coalition government after he comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament.

Mr. Shehbaz, 72, 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.

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

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

Mr. Shehbaz will be administered the oath of office on March 4 at the Presidential mansion, Aiwan-e-Sadr.

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

Shehbaz thanks brother, allies for putting their trust in him

Pakistan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 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,” Mr. 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.

Mr. 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.

Mr. 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.

Mr. 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, Mr. 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,” Mr. Shehbaz said, adding that such sights are unforgettable.

As Mr. Shehbaz spoke, PTI-backed lawmakers chanted slogans of ‘thief’ from the opposition benches.

Mr. Shehbaz will be administered the oath of office on March 4 at the Presidential mansion, Aiwan-e-Sadr.

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

Shehbaz Sharif rakes up Kashmir issue

Pakistan’s newly-elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raked up the Kashmir issue in his maiden address but pledged to improve ties with all leading nations, including the country’s neighbours.

Mr. Shehbaz said that Pakistan would not become part of any “great game” and his government would increase the number of friends.

He pledged to build and improve ties with all leading nations, including neighbours.

“We will keep ties with neighbours on the basis of equality,” Shehbaz, 72, said as he easily won the election in the National Assembly to become Pakistan’s prime minister for a second time.

Mr. Shehbaz, however, raked up the Kashmir issue and equated it with Palestine. “Let’s all come together […] and the National Assembly should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris and Palestinians,” he added.

He also thanked his allies in the coalition government for putting their trust in him and making him Leader of the House.

Shehbaz vows to revive ailing economy; to secure G20 membership by 2030

Mr. Sharif vowed to do a “deep surgery” and bring changes in the system to bring the cash-strapped country out of the alarming debt crisis and secure G20 membership by 2030.

Mr. Shehbaz, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), became the Prime Minister on March 3 for a second time after receiving 201 votes in the 336-member Parliament.

“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,” the 72-year-old leader said.

He said that this job was difficult but not impossible.

Mr. Shehbaz said that Pakistan is facing an alarming debt crisis where even the expenditures of the National Assembly were being paid by borrowing money.

“But if we decide to do a deep surgery and bring changes in the system, basic reform […] and I have no doubt that Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and others will agree that we can either get rid of a life of debt or we move forward with heads down in shame.

“No this will not happen, we will rise and we will make Pakistan self-sufficient,” he said amid slogans and chants being raised by the PTI-backed lawmakers.

On the government’s plan to stimulate business activities, he said that the government would abolish draconian and obsolete laws and regulations and would work with the provincial governments to establish a comprehensive network of export zones.

“Our goal is to secure G20 membership by 2030,” Shehbaz declared.

The G20 or Group of 20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.

He said the country was facing challenges primarily due to the fragile economy. He said that he was starting his tenure when the country was facing a budgetary deficit of more than one trillion rupees.

“How we will pay the salaries for armed forces and how to pay the civil servants,” he wondered and added that reforming the economy was the biggest challenge faced by the country.

Mr. Shehbaz highlighted the burden of debt paying and said that the country was required to pay billions of rupees in interest only.

He highlighted that the energy sector was crumbling due to the accumulating debt owed by the country to the power-producing companies. He also said that state-owned entities like Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) were running into losses worth billions of rupees.

He promised to put the country on the path of development.

“Though it is easier said than done, we will fulfil our task,” he said.

Mr. Shehbaz said that the government was determined to bring the country out of the current crisis. “I don’t want to set any deadline but due to various steps we will take, the positive results will start pouring in after a year,” he said.

On the issue of exuberant electricity bills, Shehbaz lamented that the circular debt (electricity) stands at ₹23,000 billion as only ₹28,000 worth of recovery is made for ₹38,000 worth of electricity that is provided to the consumers.

“There’s a gap of ₹1,000 billion which amounts to [around] $ 3.5 billion. Can this nation afford careless governance?” “I would call it a ‘bottomless pit’,” he said while lamenting electricity theft worth up to ₹500 to 600 billion each year.

“Electricity and tax thefts are a matter of life and death for Pakistan […] and I want to say that God willing we will remove this cancer from its roots and make the country stand on its feet.

“It is difficult […] it is a long and thorny journey full of hurdles, but countries that surmounted these challenges became one of the most going nations around the world,” he said.

He said that the circular debt of the gas sector has reached ₹29,000 billion due to the import of expensive Liquefied Natural Gas coupled with theft and issues with the distribution system.

“The state-owned enterprises are in a loss of Rs600 billion […] The PIA [alone] is in debt of ₹800 billion,” he added.

Terming the agriculture sector as the economy’s backbone, Mr. Shehbaz said that his government would provide subsidies to the farmers and would also introduce a solar tube well programme for them.

“The seed mafia will be eliminated and we will import seeds from the best countries in the world and provide them to farmers,” he said, adding that the first of these seeds would be provided free of cost.

He also promised to bring investment into the country and create economic conditions that would spur economic growth.

He also vowed to spread the web of “one window” export zones in all four provinces and work day and night to fulfil all these promises.

Mr. Shehbaz further stated that the Centre would work with all four provinces in the sectors of agriculture.

“This will decrease inflation, increase employment, and the country will grow.”

General elections in Pakistan will be held on February 11, the country’s poll body informed the Supreme Court on Thursday, putting an end to months-long uncertainty over the polls.

The Election Commission of Pakistan’s counsel, Sajeel Swati, said the process of drawing constituencies would be completed by January 29, paving the way for the polls.

He said this as the apex court resumed hearing on a set of petitions calling for holding elections within 90 days after the dissolution of the National Assembly and the provincial legislatures.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan and Justice Athar Minallah took up the pleas moved by the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and others, the Dawn newspaper reported.

Pakistan President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on August 9.

Commenting on the issue of equal political space for parties in the country, Mr. Kakar said, “No political party has been left out of the political process and that the caretaker government is doing its best to assist the electoral process.” File
| Photo Credit: PTI

Asserting that there will be a level playing field for all political parties in the next general election, Pakistan’s caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar has expressed hope that the election commission will shortly an­­nounce the date of the polls.

Without mentioning the exact date, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) last month announced that general elections would take place in the last week of January 2024.

“It seems that the date of the elections will be announced quite soon,” Kakar told reporters at a news conference, three days after returning from China, where he had attended Belt and Road Forum (BRF) conference on the 10th anniversary of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Commenting on the issue of equal political space for parties in the country, Mr. Kakar said, “No political party has been left out of the political process and that the caretaker government is doing its best to assist the electoral process.”

“We want no political party, entity and its associated political players to be out of the (election) process, but if any restriction is imposed by the court, we have to obey the orders,” he said as former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is facing legal challenges and some of the top leaders of the party are in jail.

“Can’t comment if level playing field means ensuring a particular party’s win. (We) remember the level playing field of 2018 when the South Punjab front came into being,” Kakar was quoted as saying by the Dawn newspaper on Tuesday.

Refuting the allegations that level playing field was not available to all political parties, but one, Kakar said: “What attempt the caretakers can do in two months which will help any party to get 171 seats (of the National Assembly in elections).” Kakar was talking to media amind demands by the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) for a level playing field two days after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif returned to Pakistan ending his self-imposed exile.

However, Dawn also reported that Kakar replied with “I abstain” when asked “why an extraordinary protocol was given to Sharif on his return and why the Pakistani high commissioner in the UK was at the airport to see him off.” The International News quoted Kakar, who was asked if there was a possibility of some leading Baloch Awami Party (BAP) politicians joining the Pakistan Muslim League (N) before the forthcoming elections, as saying: “If any politician wants to join a particular political party, he or she has a right to do it independently.

GeoTV reported that earlier in the day, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa — while hearing the petitions seeking timely elections within 90 days of the dissolution of the assemblies — had observed that it was “not possible” to meet the 90-day deadline for holding elections.

The apex court has adjourned the hearing till November 2, it said. The news channel also quoted Kakar as saying, “The PML-N supremo is a political reality” and that “his adversaries should face him in politics.”