Pakistan Opposition Leader Shehbaz Sharif Likely to Become New Prime Minister, Reports Suggest
In a high-octane drama in Pakistan's national assembly on Sunday, Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted from power after losing a no-confidence vote on his leadership.
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The younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz, emerged as the top choice among the opposition, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said.
Shehbaz Sharif has been the chief minister of the Punjab province of Pakistan three times.
Now, the assembly will be sitting on 11 April at 2 P.M. local time to elect the new prime minister. Earlier, the sitting was slated to be held at 11 A.M.
The Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was voted out after losing the no-confidence motion on Sunday at midnight. While no prime minister has ever completed a full five-year term in office in the country's almost 75-year history, Imran Khan is the first to be removed by a no-trust vote.
On Saturday, the assembly, which ran for more than 14 hours, witnessed acrimonious proceedings and fourth adjournments, but one hour after midnight, a total of 174 members in the 342-member House voted in favour of the no-confidence motion.
Shehbaz Sharif, who also spoke in the assembly just before announcing the no-trust vote result, said that the "new regime would not indulge in politics of revenge".
"I don't want to go back to the bitterness of the past. We want to forget them and move forward. We will not take revenge or do an injustice; we will not send people to jail for no reason, law and justice will take its course," Shehbaz said. "Today is a day of joy".
Before assuming office in 2018, Imran Khan vowed to create a "Naya Pakistan" (new Pakistan) with zero corruption and a prosperous economy.
Khan has frequently accused Sharif's brother and other leaders of corrupting Pakistan's economy.
Nawaz Sharif has been in London for the past three years since being let out of Pakistani jail. He was serving a sentence for corruption.
Both brothers have faced numerous corruption cases in the National Accountability Bureau, including under Khan's prime ministership, but Shehbaz has not been found guilty on any charges.
