Shehbaz Sharif, younger brother of Pakistan’s former prime minister, talks with journalists in 2017. Lawmakers voted for Shehbaz Sharif to replace Pakistan’s most recent Prime Minister, Imran Khan on Monday. File Photo by T. Mughal/EPA
April 11 (UPI) — Pakistan’s parliament voted Monday for opposition coalition leader Shahbaz Sharif to head the country a day after former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted.
Sharif previously served as chief minister of Punjab province and will lead Pakistan until the country’s 2023 general election.
Sharif received 174 of 342 votes from the lower house of Pakistan’s National Assembly; 172 votes against Khan were needed to oust him.
Khan, who came to power in 2018, was removed in a no-confidence vote following weeks of political unrest in Pakistan and over allegations of poor governance, CNN reported.
Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled last week that an attempt by Khan’s political party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, to dissolve parliament and block the no-confidence vote was unconstitutional.
Sharif, the younger brother of disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and leader of Pakistan Muslim League-N, was expected to contend against Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf nominated Qureshi, who served as the country’s minister of foreign affairs from August 2018 to Sunday.
More than 100 members of Khan’s political party, including Qureshi, walked out and resigned en masse ahead of Monday’s vote.
Tens of thousands of supporters of Khan’s took to the streets of Pakistan in late Sunday protests, shouting chants against the Pakistani military that had pulled back its support of Khan.
Protesters also chanted anti-U.S. slogans, as Khan had claimed the United States was involved in a conspiracy against him.
Sharif, 70, was elected to the National Assembly in 2018 and comes from a family that found wealth in steel production.
His older brother, Nawaz Sharif, had hoped he would replace him as prime minister in 2017 following his removal over a corruption probe into the family’s finances.
The elder Sharif was sentenced in 2018 to 10 years in prison and fined $10.5 million.
Shahbaz Sharif, who has remained on good terms with Pakistan’s powerful military, has vowed to improve the country’s economy.
He has been praised for his role in advancing Pakistan’s education and industrial sectors.
