Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as 23rd elected PM of Pakistan

Shehbaz Sharif has taken oath as the 23rd elected prime minister of Pakistan.

The oath was administered by Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani owing to the fact that President Dr. Arif Alvi had fallen ill.

Earlier today in the National Assembly, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Shehbaz Sharif had been declared the prime minister of Pakistan.

Shehbaz secured 174 votes in the prime minister’s election as opposed to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s zero votes.

In his maiden address as the prime minister, Shehbaz thanked Allah for “saving Pakistan”.

He said it was the first time in country’s history that a no-trust motion against a prime minister had been successful.

“And good has prevailed over evil,” he said, adding that today was a monumental day for the entire nation when a “selected” prime minister was ousted in a legal and constitutional manner. He added that the US dollar’s value declined by Rs8, terming it as “happiness for the people”.

The National Assembly session began under the custodianship of Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri. Following Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s speech, members of National Assembly belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf, including the deputy speaker, walked out of the house, boycotting the election for the country’s new prime minister.

The session was handed over to member of panel of chairpersons, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Ayaz Sadiq.

The move came after Shah Mahmood Qureshi, the PTI’s candidate for the slot, announced that PTI lawmakers would be resigning en masse from the NA.

Earlier during the day, Suri explained his reasoning for dismissing the no-confidence motion against former prime minister Imran Khan on April 3.

“The ruling was declared unconstitutional by the court … and we all are obliged to respect the court. But I want to tell you the reason behind my ruling,” he said, adding that he had taken the decision “as a responsible Pakistani and deputy speaker of the NA”.

He then referred to the diplomatic cable, which allegedly contained evidence of a foreign conspiracy to oust Imran Khan’s government. Suri said that the cable was deliberated upon in the federal cabinet, a meeting of the National Security Committee and a meeting of the parliamentary committee for security.

“And it was proven that the no-confidence motion was linked to a foreign conspiracy,” he said.