**Nearly a month after the end, Pakistan elected a new prime minister. The new prime minister is actually an "old prime minister", having served as prime minister for more than a year in 2022 after the coalition opposition ousted former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Before the end of his term in August last year, he dissolved the National Assembly of Pakistan, which was subsequently organized by the caretaker in early February.
He was Shahbaz Sharif from the Muslim League (Sharif). From stepping down in August last year to being re-elected as prime minister on March 3 this year, Shehbaz has had a difficult time. However, it is curious why Shahbaz ended up being prime minister again, rather than his brother, Nawaz Sharif, who served as prime minister three times.
He was elected Prime Minister for the second time.
Pakistan held a meeting on February 8 this year**. This was controversial before it began, on the one hand, because the time was pushed back again and again, and on the other hand, because the election campaign of former Prime Minister Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf party was limited, and Imran Khan himself was sentenced several times before **, and he is still serving his sentence in prison.
* The result also surprised some: the group of independent candidates won 101 seats, the first place in the National Assembly, most of which were associated with the Tehreek-e-Insaf party. The Muslim League (Sharif) and the People's Party (BJP) came in first.
The second and third places were 75 and 54 seats, respectively.
Since no party has won an absolute majority of seats, the formation of a government has become a problem, and it has become confusing who will be the prime minister. After several rounds of negotiations, the two main parties, the Muslim League (Sharif) and the People's Party, agreed to form a coalition government. It has also left the PTI's candidate for prime minister, Omar Ayub Khan, who has tried to unite independent candidates and a number of smaller parties to form a government, but has not been able to garner enough support.
The combination of the Muslim League (Sharif) and the People's Party (BJP) was both expected and unexpected. Traditionally, the two major parties have been hostile to each other. In early 2022, in order to overthrow then-Prime Minister Imran Khan, the two parties cooperated to launch a no-confidence motion, which ended in Imran Khan**. Shehbaz then became prime minister, while BJP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari became co-chief.
But before this **, Bilawal had repeatedly said that he would not join the new ** led by Shahbaz. The young Bilawal has his own ambitions and wants to lead the way in forming a cabinet. However, after the event, Bilawal agreed to form a coalition with the Muslim League (Sharif), saying that it was to get the country out of the current crisis.
With the Muslim League (Sharif) and the BJP agreeing to form a coalition government, the new landscape of Pakistan is largely clear: Shehbaz Sharif will become the new prime minister, and Janata Party co-chairman Asif Zardari, Bilawal's father, is expected to become Pakistan's new prime minister – elections are expected to take place on March 9.
On March 3, 2024 local time, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the new ** Prime Minister of Pakistan. Figure ic photo
Shahbaz Sharif received a total of 201 votes in Pakistan's new Prime Minister's election on March 3 with the joint support of the Pakistan People's Party, the Pakistan United National Movement Party and the Pakistan Independence Party. Another leading candidate, Omar Ayub Khan, received support from parties such as the Sunni Solidarity Council, but received only 92 votes.
Born in 1951, Shehbaz was previously the chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province three times. From April 2022 to August 2023, Shehbaz served as Prime Minister of Pakistan. This is the second time Shehbaz has been elected prime minister of Pakistan.
The elder brother "gave way" to the younger brother.
After Pakistani National Assembly Speaker Sadiq announced Shahbaz as prime minister, Shahbaz immediately hugged his brother Nawaz Sharif next to him and thanked him and others for their trust.
Nawaz was elected prime minister of Pakistan three times, in 1990, 1997 and 2007. In October last year, Nawaz returned home after several years of exile because of corruption issues, and was quickly acquitted by a court. At the time, Nawaz was believed to have returned to help the Muslim League (Sharif) win the first time, and he himself was very likely to become prime minister for the fourth time.
In the end, however, his younger brother Shehbaz was elected as the new prime minister of Pakistan. Pakistan's Dawn newspaper said the exact reason why Nawaz gave way to his brother was unclear. But some experts believe that this may have something to do with the Sharif brothers' relationship with the Pakistani military.
On February 8, 2024 local time, in Lahore, Pakistan,**, former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif went to the polling station to vote. Figure ic photo
Zhou Rong, a researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of Chinese, told the Beijing News, "Shahbaz has a better relationship with the Pakistani military than Nawaz, and his appointment as prime minister is more conducive to a stable and harmonious relationship between the ruling coalition and the Pakistani military, which may be one of the main reasons why Shehbaz is not Nawaz as prime minister." ”
The Pakistani military has far-reaching influence over Pakistan, and Nawaz's relationship with the Pakistani military was once very stiff, and he was overthrown by the military in his second term. Previously, some analysts believed that Nawaz's return to China was to reach some kind of agreement with the military, but if he became prime minister, it may still be difficult to obtain military support.
However, Nawaz is clearly still the soul of the Muslim League (Sharif). In his first speech after being elected prime minister, Shahbaz mentioned his brother Nawaz several times. He thanked Nawaz for his trust in him, calling him "my leader" and "the founder of Pakistan."
In his speech, Shehbaz also expressed his determination to lead Pakistan out of the crisis. Pakistan faces enormous challenges, but they can be overcome "if we come together and make a unanimous decision to change the fate of this country," he said. He insisted that getting Pakistan out of the current crisis was "difficult, but not impossible".
Pakistan has faced a severe political, economic, and social crisis in recent years. Zhou Rong believes that after Shehbaz became prime minister for the second time, his main task is to alleviate Pakistan's economic crisis. He said that Pakistan is facing the dilemma of "three highs and three lows", the three highs are high inflation, high debt, and high unemployment, and the three lows are low growth, low exports, and low tax revenues, and it is very difficult to solve these problems.
Secondly, Pakistan is also facing an increasingly critical security situation. Zhou Rong pointed out that the trend of terrorist attacks in Pakistan has increased in recent years, and security threats from groups such as the Islamic State of Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), the Pakistan Taliban, and the Baloch Liberation Army are intensifying. In addition, some people have been accused of fraud, so opposition forces, especially supporters of the Tehreek-e-Insaf party, may hold large-scale rally, which will also interfere with Pakistan's future socio-economic stability.
The outside world believes that Shehbaz's election as Pakistan's prime minister will not affect the future of Sino-Pakistani relations. In his speech after his election, Shehbaz said that China is Pakistan's long-tested old friend and sincere and reliable good partner, and Pakistan will further expand and promote the construction of the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor.
Reporter |Xie Lian
Edit |Zhang.