Shehbaz Sharif elected Pakistan's prime minister

Desk Report

Publisted at 2:52 PM, Sun Mar 3rd, 2024

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif has been elected the 24th prime minister of Pakistan after securing 201 votes, Pak National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq announced.

Omer Ayub Khan, the PTI’s candidate for the premier, secured 92 votes, reports Dawn.

Pakistan went to the polls on 8 February in a vote marred by a mobile internet shutdown on election day; arrests and violence in its build-up; and unusually delayed results, leading to accusations that the vote was rigged.
  
Sharif, 72, is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who spearheaded their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party's election campaign.
 
Candidates backed by Khan gained the most seats but the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party agreed to form a coalition government, which enabled Shehbaz Sharif to be elected as prime minister as his brother stepped aside, reports Reuters
 
In his previous term, Sharif's government was able to negotiate a critical International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal but the process was mired in challenges and measures required by the agreement - which expires in April - have contributed to rising prices and added pressure on poor and middle class households.
 
The new government will have to immediately start talks with the IMF for the next agreement to shore up the country's economy whilst also dealing with the growing discontent over deepening poverty.

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