(Islamabad) Lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly on Sunday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister for the second time, as allies of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan shouted protests against his appointment , alleging fraud in last month’s election.
President Ayaz Sadiq said Mr Sharif received 201 votes, beating Omar Ayub of the Sunni Ittehad Council, who received 92 votes. The winner only needs 169 votes to obtain a majority.
Mr. Ayub enjoyed the support of Mr. Khan’s Pakistan Movement for Justice party, or Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose candidates failed to win enough seats to form a government on their own. The PTI has refused to negotiate with its rivals to form a coalition.
After days of negotiations, Mr Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League and his supporters formed an alliance following the February 8 elections whose results were announced with an unusual delay due to a mobile phone outage in all the countries. Authorities said the communications cutoff was necessary to prevent militant attacks on candidates and security forces.
However, the delay has sparked criticism from Mr Khan’s party, which insists the vote was rigged to prevent him from securing a majority. The party claims to have proof that its victory “was stolen during the vote count”, an accusation the Electoral Commission denies.
Mr Sharif, in his acceptance speech in Parliament on Sunday, said: “We have been the target of political victimization in the past, but we have never taken revenge.” Without naming Imran Khan, he said the former leader had jailed many political rivals, including himself and his ally Asif Ali Zardari.
He also accused Mr Khan’s supporters of attacking military installations after his ouster in 2022, adding that now Parliament and the courts would decide whether those involved in attacking military installations deserved a pardon.
Holding portraits of Mr Khan, his allies stood in front of Mr Sharif when he began his speech, shouting “vote thief” and “shame”. Mr Sharif denounced their actions, saying they were causing chaos in Parliament. He also said they should present their evidence of election fraud to the relevant authorities.
Mr. Sharif then addressed the opposition, saying: “I offer you reconciliation. Let us sit down together to work for the betterment of Pakistan.” But he was met with more protests and shouting.
The Prime Minister also spoke of restoring ties with the United States. Relations between the two countries became strained after Mr Khan accused the United States, Mr Sharif and the Pakistani military of conspiring to keep him out of power following his ouster.
Mr. Sharif also said his biggest challenge was the economic situation, as Pakistan depends on foreign loans to manage the economy. His government faces multiple problems, including how to respond to a surge in militant attacks, repair a struggling economy, improve relations with Taliban-ruled neighbor Afghanistan, repair crumbling infrastructure and resolve power outages. current all year round. He must also maintain political stability, as Mr Khan’s party has pledged to continue its protests against allegations of electoral fraud.
Mr. Khan, who is currently serving prison sentences in several cases and is barred from running for or holding office, wrote a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week, urging it to link any negotiations with Islamabad to an audit of the February elections. Mr Khan’s action comes days before the IMF releases a key tranche of a bailout loan to Pakistan.
Pakistan is relying on bailouts to shore up its foreign currency reserves and avoid a default, with the IMF and wealthy allies like China and Saudi Arabia financing the country to the tune of billions of dollars. Under his previous term as prime minister, Mr Sharif – who replaced Mr Khan after his ouster in a confidence vote in Parliament in April 2022 – had to fight for months to secure a 3 billion bailout package from the IMF.
Mr. Sharif said he would seek a new IMF bailout after the end of March, when the current bailout expires.