Shehbaz Sharif has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. After three decades in politics and serving thrice as Chief Minister Punjab, he has now taken over as premier, the role held by his brother Nawaz Sharif who was also ousted from power.
Shehbaz was always seen to play second fiddle but his supposedly cordial terms with state institutions, as compared to Nawaz who opted a path of confrontation, made him the relevant choice. He could hold power till at least October 2023 and face a magnanimous task to place the economy on track. He has vowed to unify the nation, saying there will be no revenge but accountability will take its course.
Moments after being elected, Shehbaz Sharif announced ambitious relief measures including a raise in wages and pensions and reducing electricity prices. It was a usual move to woo voters and the real situation will be realized after the state of the economy is known. The next big task for the government will be as its takes control of the budget-making process which could be announced in a couple of months.
Shehbaz Sharif also vowed to expand ties with China, Europe, and the United States, saying they remain our biggest trading partners and we cannot live in isolation. The relations with US could see an uptick as they dived during Imran’s tenure and he left after alleging there was foreign conspiracy to oust him. Sharif also intends to hold good ties with India but it needs to be seen if the Modi regime will reciprocate and budge on the Kashmir issue.
Sharif will have smooth sailing in parliament as the PTI has announced their resignation, saying they cannot sit with those having corruption charges. If the PTI does indeed submit mass resignations, it will be a huge task for the election commission to hold by-polls on hundreds of constituencies. Thus, it needs to be seen how long will be Sharif’s stint in power.
Another huge challenge for Sharif remains in forming the federal cabinet. He was the joint candidate of opposition and will have to reward allies for supporting him during the no-confidence motion. The coalition that has been formed is brittle and could collapse at any moment. The ideal thing would be to seek the people’s mandate and call for new elections to bring normalcy back into parliament.
