ISLAMABAD -
After the joint Pakistani opposition succeeded in impeaching Prime Minister Imran Khan (by 174 votes), after a long session of Parliament that extended for more than 14 hours yesterday, Saturday, the country is going through a state of power vacuum for some time, before a president is elected New ministers tomorrow, Monday.
Shahbaz Sharif, the leader of the joint opposition in Parliament and the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Sharif) party, along with (outgoing) Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi of Imran Khan's Insaf party have both ran for prime minister in the parliamentary vote. scheduled for Monday.
Features of a new government policy
The name of Shahbaz Sharif was rumored since the beginning of the crisis that he would be the main candidate for the opposition parties to take over the post of prime minister after Imran Khan, and indeed he was officially nominated.
Speaking to reporters after submitting his nomination papers, Shahbaz Sharif said that national harmony will be his top priority, according to Geo News channel.
"Relief will be provided to people after the economy is strengthened," he added.
Sharif said he will form a new government after consulting with opposition leaders, to ensure the start of a new era that promotes a culture of mutual respect in the country.
Talking about foreign policy, Shahbaz said that they want peace with India, but that is not possible without resolving the Kashmir issue.
Journalist and political analyst Fahd Hussein said - in an opinion piece for him in Dawn newspaper on Saturday - that the new government is expected to chart a less confrontational path, and it is also expected to build a better working relationship between all institutions.
Big chances for Shahbaz Sharif
With the parliamentary vote to elect a new Prime Minister of Pakistan to lead the country for the remaining period of about a year and a half, and the presence of competition from the government that was impeached only a day ago, the question is raised about the chances of Shahbaz Sharif winning the position.
In this context, researcher and political analyst Shahzad Harouni says that the issue of Shahbaz Sharif's victory during the voting session tomorrow, Monday, has become very likely, because he is the only candidate agreed upon by the opposition parties.
And Haroni adds - in an interview with Al Jazeera Net - that "it is clear that the opposition parties have enough votes, as we saw in the no-confidence session against Imran Khan yesterday evening."
For his part, the Chairman of the Pakistan Scholars Council, Dr. Tahir Ashrafi - in an interview with Al Jazeera Net - says that according to the constitutional system, a new prime minister must be elected after the withdrawal of confidence from the previous government, and according to the current situation, the opposition has a majority in Parliament, and therefore, " Shahbaz Sharif's victory is almost certain, according to the current data."
In a related context, Shahzad Haroni says that the political battle has been largely resolved in Pakistan with the end of the vote of no-confidence against Imran Khan, and that he "does not expect that there will be other events during the coming period."
When asked about the possibility of future differences between the joint opposition parties, he said that he does not expect differences between them, and that there is an agreed strategy between those parties for the period after Imran Khan.
Scenarios for the next stage
On his expectations regarding the next stage, Harouni says that he sees in one of the scenarios, "Shahbaz Sharif will be prime minister, and in most cases, Maulana Fazlur Rahman - leader of the Jamiat Ulema al-Islam party - will be agreed upon as president of the country, while ministerial portfolios will be distributed among the parties." The opposition, the most important of which is the Muslim League (Nawaz) and the Pakistan People's Party, in what can be described as the government of allied parties.
He continues, "The other scenario relates to the Insaf party itself, the way in which Imran Khan's government was overthrown, his defeat in the vote of no-confidence, and the disputes that erupted within his party and the ruling coalition. Therefore, this may lead to two basic scenarios in this context: The first is that its future may be dangerous, and that the foregoing may lead to the possibility of the disintegration of the Insaf party, because most of the party’s members came from other parties, and they may change their bets and return to their previous parties.
Political analyst Fahd Hussain agrees with him, who said that he expects a difficult future for the Insaf party, due to the policies it pursued during his rule, which formed great resentment among the Pakistani street, especially at the economic level.
The other scenario that Haroni talked about is that Imran Khan will work during the coming period, and before the elections scheduled for next year, to build his party anew with the people who continued with him during the political battle that was barely over.
He adds that Imran Khan has acceptance in the Pakistani street, because of his speeches and his personality, which a part of the Pakistani people sees as a special attraction.
And he will "use the foreign conspiracy narrative, and his rejection of American policies."
On the other hand, the Insaf party announced through one of its leaders, Fouad Chaudhry, who was Minister of Information in the previous government, that the movement decided to resign collectively from the councils, and the process of withdrawing from the National Assembly will begin on Monday, according to the newspaper "Express Tribune".
In this case, the cohesion of the opposition parties is important and crucial to avoid the organization of early elections.
In an interview with Dr. Tahir Ashrafi, he said that the Pakistan Scholars Council hopes the political parties will resolve the political conflict between them, and that the Council is making attempts to resolve this crisis and avoid its escalation during the next stage.