He also thanked his allies in the coalition government for their confidence in him
Islamabad:
Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif raised the Kashmir issue in his maiden speech on Sunday but promised to improve relations with all major countries, including the country’s neighbours.
Shehbaz said Pakistan would not be part of any “great game” and his government would increase the number of friends.
He promised to build and improve relations with all major countries, including neighboring countries.
“We will maintain ties with our neighbors on the basis of equality,” said Sheikhbaz, 72, who easily won elections to the National Assembly and became Pakistan’s prime minister for a second time.
However, Shehbaz raised the Kashmir issue and equated it with the Palestinian issue. “Let’s all come together […] The National Assembly should pass a resolution on freedom of Kashmiris and Palestinians,” he added.
He also thanked his allies in the coalition government for their confidence in him and for appointing him leader of the House of Representatives.
“The subsequent development of the country when my Quaid (leader Nawaz) was elected prime minister thrice is an example of this. It is not wrong to say that Nawaz Sharif was the builder of Pakistan,” Shehbaz said in his Victory speech.
Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) chief thanked his brother Nawaz and all allies for reposing faith in him and appointing him as leader of the House.
Shehbaz, the unanimous candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), received 201 votes in the 336-member House of Representatives.
Shehbaz’s challenger, Omar Ayub Khan of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan, received 92 votes.
Shehbaz said the challenges faced by the country were mainly due to economic fragility. He said that when he took office, the country was facing a budget deficit of over one trillion rupees.
He wondered “how we are going to pay the armed forces and how we are going to pay the civil servants,” adding that economic reforms were the biggest challenge facing the country.
Shehbaz highlighted the burden of servicing debt and said the country would only have to pay billions of rupees in interest.
He stressed that the energy sector was collapsing due to the country’s growing debt to power generation companies. He also mentioned that state-owned entities such as Pakistan International Airlines are suffering losses worth billions of rupees.
He promised to put the country on the path of development and declared that all obstacles would be overcome. “It’s easier said than done, but we will accomplish our mission,” he said.
Shehbaz said the government was determined to get the country out of the current crisis. “I don’t want to set any deadlines, but because of the various measures we will take, the positive results will start to emerge in a year’s time,” he said.
He promised to bring investment into the country and create economic conditions that would spur economic growth. He also said that a “one window” export park network will be established in the four provinces and that these commitments will be fulfilled day and night.
The newly elected prime minister vowed to make Pakistan “self-sufficient”. “We will rise and we will make Pakistan self-sufficient,” Shehbaz said.
“There are some talented people in this parliament who can sail Pakistan’s ship to the shore […] These include journalists, intellectuals, politicians, religious leaders,” he said.
Shehbaz said that Pakistan faces huge challenges and opportunities. “If we unite and decide to change Pakistan’s destiny […] God willing, we will overcome these challenges and take Pakistan to its rightful place,” he said.
He emphasized that the work was difficult but not impossible.
PML-N said in a post on
Another post read: “Another name for salvation is Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif.”
The new parliamentary session was convened amid noise and chants from PTI-backed legislators.
In his speech, Shehbaz also said that Pakistan will always remember the sacrifice of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the founder of the Pakistan People’s Party and the maternal grandfather of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
He also announced the elimination of terrorism from the country in line with the adopted national action plan to combat extremism in the country.
On May 9 last year, when supporters of Imran Khan were arrested on suspicion of corruption, Shehbaz also targeted his rival Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf by attacking state institutions and military buildings.
“On May 9, the general headquarters, the residence of the corps commander, and the airport were attacked. This is a shame for the country,” Shehbaz said, adding that such a scene was unforgettable.
He said the PTI jailed all opponents, did not care about women and children and used language that could not be spoken out loud. “That’s the difference between this leadership and that leadership; the whole parliament is witness to the fact that we never thought about the politics of revenge,” he said.
Shehbaz also said that those responsible for the May 9 incident will not be spared, while stating that all innocent people involved in various cases will be spared.
Opposition PTI MPs kept shouting slogans during the prime minister’s speech, but the prime minister, undeterred by the rowdy behavior, continued speaking and delivered a lengthy speech. He asked opponents to seek help from state agencies to redress complaints of manipulation.
Shehbaz also questioned why Imran Khan wrote to the International Monetary Fund, saying it amounted to an invitation for foreign interference in the country’s affairs. He offered conciliation to the opposition and invited them to cooperate in solving economic problems.
He will be sworn in at the presidential palace Aiwan-e-Sadr on Monday.
Shehbaz previously served as Prime Minister of the coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023, before the parliament was dissolved and a general election was held.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
