Shehbaz Sharif takes oath as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan

Shehbaz Sharif on Monday took oath as the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan, news channel Geo News reported. Sharif was administered the oath by Senate chairperson Sadiq Sanjarani after President Arif Alvi complained of ‘discomfort’.

Earlier in the day, Shehbaz Sharif was elected prime minister unopposed after former foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi announced on the floor that his party Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf will boycott the PM polls.

“Sharif has secured 174 votes… and has been declared as prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” according to the formal result announced by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq who presided over the National Assembly session after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri said his conscience did not allow him to conduct the session.

The younger brother of three-time Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, the 70-year-old PML-N leader has served as chief minister of Punjab province for three terms.

He emerged as the leader of a united opposition that removed Imran Khan from the post of prime minister after a late night no-confidence vote on Saturday. The former cricket captain, just a year younger than his successor, had alleged a US conspiracy to topple his government.

Sharif told parliament his incoming government would investigate Khan’s much-hyped allegations of “foreign intervention” in his ouster.

During his speech to the national assembly after being elected the prime minister, Sharif unveiled a raft of populist measures and pushed for the speedy development of a key project under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, Bloomberg reported.

“Rome wasn’t built in a day,” Sharif told lawmakers in parliament after Monday’s election. “We will make sure that we make Pakistan a paradise for investment through wonderful policies.”