Pakistani opposition leaders Asif Ali Zardari (right), and Shahbaz Sharif hold a press conference about the country’s latest political situation in Islamabad, Pakistan, Monday, March 28, 2022.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan is facing the worst crisis of his government as he faces a no-confidence motion by the Leader of the Opposition and PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif. Currently, the government of Pakistan is led by Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) with the support of the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), and the PML-Q.
The crisis has worsened after the Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), a key ally of the PTI-led ruling coalition, pledged support for a no-confidence motion against Imran Khan, which now sees the majority support. take the risk of losing. National Assembly, Sama TV reported. Leaders of opposition parties and the MQM-P drafted an agreement at the Parliament Lodge after midnight.
If Imran Khan loses the no-confidence vote, which seems an uphill task for him as per the current numbers in the National Assembly, then Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif can claim the stake to form the government, as a united opposition has the numbers. . ,
Pakistan’s united opposition is led by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif (brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
Who is Shahbaz Sharif, the possible contender for Pakistan’s PM if Imran Khan’s government falls?
Shahbaz Sharif, born on September 23, 1951, is the current Leader of the Opposition and the head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N since August 20, 2018. He has been the Chief Minister of Punjab in Pakistan for 3 times, making him the longest serving Chief Minister.
In 1988, Shahbaz was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly and in 1990 to the National Assembly. He was elected the Chief Minister of Punjab for the first time in February 1997.
However, in 1999, after a military coup toppled the national government, Shahbaz spent years in self-exile with family in Saudi Arabia.
In October 1999, senior officers loyal to the then army chief General Pervez Musharraf arrested Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and his ministers after thwarting the Sharif regime’s attempt to sack Musharraf and prevent his plane from landing in Pakistan because He had returned from a trip to Sri Lanka.
Shahbaz returned to Pakistan in 2007 and was appointed chief minister for his second term following the PML-N’s victory in the province in the 2008 general elections.
Again in 2013, he was elected as the CM of Punjab for the third time and served till the party’s defeat in the 2018 general election.
Shahbaz Sharif was named as the head of the Pakistan Muslim League-N after his brother and former PM Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from assuming office. He was named as the Leader of the Opposition after the 2018 election, when Imran Khan took over.
The Pakistani National Assembly has a total of 342 members, with a majority mark of 172, however, after the MQM-P with 164 members withdrew support to Imran Khan’s government, the number required by the opposition for a no-confidence motion was successful against Khan. could. The PTI-led coalition government was formed with the support of 179 members.
,with agency input,
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