By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Nawaz Sharif, a former three-time prime minister, on Tuesday nominated his younger brother, Shehbaz Sharif, as his party’s candidate for the country’s top office, ending speculation that he would seek a fourth term himself.
Nawaz Sharif, who returned to Pakistan in October 2023 after nearly four years of self-imposed exile, was widely seen as the frontrunner for the prime minister’s post, with the tacit support of the powerful military establishment. But he decided to step aside and hand over the reins to his brother, who served as the prime minister from April 2022 to August 2023.
The announcement came as Sharif’s party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), secured the backing of a coalition of six parties, including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Quami Movement Pakistan (MQM-P), to form a government after last week’s inconclusive general elections.
The PML-N emerged as the largest party in the parliament, winning 75 seats, but fell short of a majority. Sharif called on other parties to join him in forming a coalition government, saying he wanted to end the political and economic crisis that has gripped the country.
“Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz leader Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has nominated Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif for the post of prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” Marriyum Aurangzeb, the PML-N’s information secretary, wrote on X, a social media platform.
Aurangzeb also said that Nawaz Sharif had chosen his daughter, Maryam Nawaz, to be the chief minister of Punjab, the country’s most populous and politically influential province.
“Nawaz Sharif, while thanking the people and all political parties and their leaders for providing political support, has expressed his firm belief that the decisions will help Pakistan be free from economic threats and its people will be rid of inflation,” she added.
Shehbaz Sharif, 72, is no stranger to power. He led a successful campaign to oust his predecessor, Imran Khan, through a vote of no confidence in the parliament in 2022.
But younger Sharif’s tenure was marred by political and economic turmoil, as Pakistan faced a severe balance of payments crisis that threatened to push the country into default. The country’s foreign exchange reserves dwindled and its currency depreciated sharply against the US dollar, triggering inflation and unemployment.
The decision to nominate Shehbaz Sharif as the prime minister’s candidate came after six a coalition of six parties, including the PML-N, PPP, MQM-P and the Pakistan Muslim League-Q (PML-Q), announced their support for a PML-N-led government to end a political stalemate after last week’s elections.
“We have decided that we will sit together to form a government and pull Pakistan out of its problems,” Asif Ali Zardari, the PPP co-chairman and a former president, told reporters at a news conference after a meeting of the group. “We welcome them [PTI] to join us in this process, and all political forces are invited to engage in discussions about reconciliation.”
Earlier, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of the PPP and the son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, had announced his party would support the PML-N’s candidate for the prime minister’s post. However, he said the PPP would not be part of the government and that he would pull out of the race for the premiership.
“We are not in a position to join the federal government ourselves, we are not interested in taking ministries, but we also don’t want to see political chaos and perpetual chaos in the country,” Bhutto Zardari told reporters in Islamabad.
“We will be willing to support [the PML-N] on an issue-to-issue basis, in case of important votes, candidate for prime minister of Pakistan and to ensure the government is formed, and political stability is restored.”
The Bhutto scion said he was pulling out of the race for Pakistan’s prime minister.
“The reality is that the Pakistan Peoples Party does not have a mandate to form the federal government and because of that, I will not be putting myself forward for the candidacy of prime minister of Pakistan,” he announced.
Meanwhile, former prime minister Imran Khan warned his political opponents against forming a government with “stolen votes,” hours after his party announced alliances with two religious parties to form coalition governments in three provinces and the center.
Khan, who is in jail, thanked his supporters for giving his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party a “resounding” two-thirds majority in last week’s general elections, which were marred by allegations of rigging and violence.
“I warn against the misadventure of forming a government with stolen votes,” Khan said in a message from jail shared on his official X account. “Such daylight robbery will not only be a disrespect to the citizens, but will also push the country’s economy further into a downward spiral.”
Khan said his party would “never compromise” on the people’s will and instructed his party against engaging with any political party that had “robbed people’s mandate,” including PML-N, PPP, and the MQM.
The PTI, which emerged as the largest group in the National Assembly with 93 seats out of 266, announced that it had formed alliances with the Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), a Shia Muslim party, and the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), a conservative Islamist party, to form coalition governments in the center, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
The party’s spokesperson, Raoof Hasan, said he had met Khan in jail and received his approval to form a coalition with the MWM and the JI.
“Moreover, Khan has decided to nominate Gandapur as the PTI’s candidate for chief minister in KP,” Hasan said, referring to former minister and PTI leader, Ali Amin Gandapur.
The PTI secured the most number of seats in KP, 90. The party also claimed to have a majority in Punjab, the most populous and politically influential province, with 129 seats out of 297.
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