Pakistan: Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the Muslim League, elected Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif, is the new Prime Minister of Pakistan and takes over from Imran Khan ousted from power by a vote of no confidence.
AFP - AAMIR QURESHI
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Shehbaz Sharif is the new Prime Minister of Pakistan.
He takes over from Imran Khan, ousted from power by a motion of censure.
The 70-year-old leader of PML-N, the Pakistan Muslim League, led the sling that toppled Imran Khan along with other opposition leaders.
The session was stormy in Parliament where the vote was held, a session with twists and turns.
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With our correspondent in Islamabad
,
Sonia Ghezali
MPs from PTI, Imran Khan's party have resigned from parliament.
About 140 of them thus left the Hemicycle, deciding to boycott the election: "
To vote would be to give legitimacy to an illegitimate government
", declared the former Minister of Foreign Affairs who spoke for several minutes in the assembly.
PTI members chanted the word "
azadi
", which means freedom in Urdu, echoing their accusations.
They indeed accuse the United States of being behind the dismissal of
Imran Khan
.
Towards a coalition government
The vote on the Prime Minister followed and, unsurprisingly, Shehbaz Sharif was elected.
Shehbaz Sharif, a man of political experience, who for years governed the province of Punjab is also the younger brother of another great figure in Pakistani politics, Nawaz Sharif, who was three times Prime Minister of Pakistan.
A man exiled to London for a few years after being accused of corruption.
Shehbaz Sharif will have to form a coalition government with the other opposition parties, historically rival parties, but which have joined forces to overthrow Imran Khan.
Will this government hold out until the legislative elections in a year?
Will he be able to cope with the serious economic crisis that is hitting Pakistan?
Many challenges are to be met in an atmosphere that promises to be deleterious.
A bitter-tasting appointment for some Pakistanis
In the streets of Islamabad, Kamel, in his thirties, sees the coming to power of Shehbaz Sharif with bitterness: “
I am sad.
I cry over the fate of my free country.
A free and independent country should not have a corrupt politician like him at its head.
I'm not happy.
»
"
Imran Khan was a brave leader and that's why he was overthrown, that's why they ousted him from power,"
said another passer-by on his moped
.
Corrupt people always end up coming back to power.
»
Rezouan Kader is a civil servant and he says he has no more hope: “
I don't think that any Prime Minister can do anything to bring down consumer prices.
Only the faces change in power here.
»
Other demonstrations are to be expected, assures Imran Khan
Frida Bibi waits for her bus in the heat, puny, she explains that she struggles every month to make ends meet: “
All those who come to power only think of themselves, no one thinks of the poor.
Imran Khan said he was going to put people to work, that they were going to build houses for the poor.
He did not do anything.
And now these opposition people are coming to power and they too will not do anything for the poor.
»
The PTI led huge demonstrations across the country on Sunday evening, and others will follow promised Imran Khan who seems determined to test and challenge the future government in the streets.
►
To read: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan overthrown by a motion of no confidence
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Imran Khan