Pakistan: Nawaz Sharif nominates younger brother Shehbaz for premiership, says ‘best choice in current circumstances’

Formally nominating his younger brother to head a coalition government, former Pakistan premier Nawaz Sharif said 'Shehbaz is the best choice for the prime ministership, especially in the current circumstances Pakistan is in’, English daily Dawn reported.

“Nawaz officially nominated his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif and party loyalist Sardar Ayaz Sadiq for the posts of prime minister and speaker of the National Assembly. The parliamentary party endorsed Shehbaz’s name and also reposed its full confidence in the leadership of Nawaz,” PML-N central deputy secretary Attaullah Tarar said in a statement.

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Lauded the performance of Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister during the tenure of the Pakistan Democratic Movement, the former prime minister said “The way he stopped the country from defaulting is unprecedented.” 

Senior Sharif expressed hope that Pakistan would emerge out of the current crises in the next one or two years.

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“Pakistan is very injured at this time and we will have to fill its wounds,” Nawaz said. “We will have to take the country out of these difficulties and I believe that we will have to make difficult decisions in the next two years […] but if your intention is pure then God will surely help you.

“We have to give ease to the public, we have to fix the prices of electricity and gas, we have to make Pakistan stand on its feet and if you move forward with a well-thought agenda then this journey will become easy,” Nawaz said.

Shehbaz, 72, had led a coalition government for 16 months till August 2023 before the caretaker government took over following the announcement of general elections.

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Outgoing National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has called the National Assembly session on Thursday after President Dr Arif Alvi, known for his closeness to jailed former prime minister Imran Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), refused to do so.

The President is of the view that Parliament is not complete because the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is yet to clear the air over the allocation of reserved seats to the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), following the PTI-SIC ‘merger’ for this very purpose.

Khan’s PTI-backed independents have emerged as the largest number of winners followed by PML-N and PPP. However, Khan has alleged that the February 8 elections were the most controversial and rigged polls in the country's history.

He has accused the PML-N-Paksitan Peoples Party post-poll alliance, which also has four other parties, as "mandate thieves" set to form the government in the Centre.