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Sharif promises no ‘politics of revenge’
174 lawmakers voted in favour of the no-confidence motion against PM Imran Khan after a day of high drama in the Parliament.
Shehbaz Sharif, the joint opposition’s candidate for the post of prime minister, on Sunday vowed that the new government in Pakistan want to “move forward” and not indulge in “politics of revenge”.
Addressing the National Assembly soon after 174 lawmakers voted in favour of the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan after a day of high drama in the lower house of parliament, the president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, said that no one would interfere in the affairs of law and justice and would run the institutions together.
“I don’t want to go back to bitterness of the past. We want to forget them and move forward. We will not take revenge or do injustice; we will not send people to jail for no reason, law and justice will take its course,” the 70-year-old former chief minister of Punjab province said.
The younger brother of PML-N supremo and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif thanked other opposition leaders, including Asif Ali Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman, for their relentless struggle for upholding the rule of law and constitution which, he added, had finally yielded fruits.
Nawaz Sharif, 72, was first disqualified and then convicted on corruption charges. His younger brother, Shehbaz, is also accused of corruption. But the Sharif brothers have dismissed the allegations of corruption as “politically motivated” by the government led by Khan.
Sharif files nomination for prime minister’s post
Pakistan’s opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday nominated himself for the post of prime minister after the ouster of Imran Khan, whose party threatened to withdraw its lawmakers from parliament if the former Punjab chief minister was allowed to contest the election for the top post on Monday.
The joint opposition - a rainbow of socialist, liberal and radically religious parties - has nominated 70-year-old Sharif for the premier’s post while ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was named by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as its candidate.
The nomination papers of Sharif, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president have been accepted by the National Assembly secretariat after objections raised by the PTI were rejected.
Qureshi’s nomination papers were also accepted.
‘Beginning of a new dawn in Pakistan’
Shehbaz Sharif, said Khan’s departure was a chance for a new beginning. “A new dawn has started ... This alliance will rebuild Pakistan,” he told parliament on Sunday.
Sharif was for years chief minister of Punjab province and has a reputation as an effective administrator.
His first tasks will be to repair relations with the powerful military as well as ally the United States, and tend to a stuttering economy.
Khan had antagonised the United States throughout his tenure, welcoming the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan last year and more recently accusing the United States of being behind the attempt to oust him. Washington dismissed the accusation.
Before filing nomination, Sharif offered “special thanks” to those who stood up “for the Constitution!”
Ex-president and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) co-chair Asif Ali Zaradri had proposed Sharif’s name for prime minister in a joint opposition’s meeting. Zardari’s son Bilawal Bhutto is likely to be appointed as the new foreign minister. “I have a message for the Pakistani youth that they should never give up on their dreams as nothing is impossible. Democracy is the best revenge. Pakistan Zindabad,” said Bilawal.
Chinese media upbeat on Sharif becoming PM
Chinese official media on Sunday sounded upbeat about the prospects of Shehbaz Sharif becoming the new prime minister following the ouster of Imran Khan, saying all-weather ties between China and Pakistan “could be better than under Khan”.
A new Pakistan government will be formed most likely under Shehbaz, the younger brother of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, after parliament reconvenes on Monday to vote for a new premier, a write up in the state-run Global Times said.
“Chinese and Pakistani analysts consider that the solid China-Pakistan relations will not be affected by the internal political change in Pakistan because to safeguard and develop the bilateral ties is the joint consensus of all parties and all groups in Pakistan,” it said. “The potential successor of Khan is from the Sharif family which has been promoting China-Pakistan ties for a long time, and cooperation between the two countries could be even better than under Khan,” it said, adding that close ties between the two countries were better under the traditional political parties.
The $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) progressed better under the previous Nawaz Sharif government. China had reservations about Khan as he was a critic of the project when he was in the opposition though he later became its big admirer after assuming office in 2018.
