Shehbaz Sharif chosen as New Prime Minister of Pakistan - Who is he?

Shehbaz Sharif has been elected as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan amid a tense political situation.

Outgoing Imran Khan

Opposition parties have been protesting against the rule of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in recent days. The party lost a majority in parliament as it withdrew its support for Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf coalition. As a result, Imran Khan resigned as Prime Minister. Thus the regime has gone to the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party.

The leader of that party, Shehbaz Sharif, was elected the new Prime Minister of Pakistan yesterday. Meanwhile, Imran Khan has also resigned as an MP.

Shehbaz Sharif

Shehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. Born and raised in Lahore, he attended a Government college there and joined his father in the steel industry. Shebaz Sharif then entered politics in the 1980s.

His elder brother was already in politics so he became interested and contested the 1988 parliamentary elections and became an MP. Shehbaz Sharif, who then gradually grew, contested the 1997 Punjab provincial elections and became chief minister.

Growth

When he became the Chief Minister, he introduced many new projects in the fields of education, health, industrial agriculture. He also implemented modern transportation schemes. Due to this, Shehbaz Sharif became very influential among the people of Punjab.

Coup

Two years after Shehbaz Sharif became the Chief Minister of Punjab, the army came to power. He was deported to Saudi Arabia in 2000. After that he lived there for 7 years. He then returned to Pakistan in 2007 to contest in next year's Punjab provincial elections and become chief minister again. The people of Punjab gave him a chance in the next election as well.

Shehbaz Sharif then set foot on national politics in 2017. His brother Nawaz freed himself from the Pakistan Muslim League after losing the post of Prime Minister due to a corruption case. Shehbaz Sharif then took over the leadership.

Imprisonment

Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, who contested in the 2018 elections, had been arrested and jailed for corruption during the Imran Khan regime. He was finally released from prison in 2021 and is currently the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on taking over as the new Prime Minister.