His term as Prime Minister included 1990 to 1993 (Archives)
Islamabad:
Three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as an ordinary member of Pakistan’s National Assembly on Thursday during the 16th session of the National Assembly, days after he gave up his efforts to lead the country for the fourth time.
After a poor showing in the electoral battle, a change of fortune led Nawaz, 74, the top leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, to give up his claim to the prime ministership in favor of his 72-year-old brother Sherbaz.
Mr Sharif returned to parliament seven years after having to resign as prime minister after being disqualified in 2017.
His first term as prime minister was from 1990 to 1993, then from 1997 to 1999, and the last from 2013 to 2017, but neither term lasted a full five years. He returned to Pakistan from London last October, ending his self-imposed exile, to lead his party in the February 8 elections.
However, he failed to realize his ambition of serving as Pakistan’s prime minister for a record fourth time as his Muslim League failed to gain enough seats in the elections, forcing him to nominate his brother to serve as prime minister again.
Shehbaz served as prime minister after the government of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan was ousted in April 2022. The leader of the Muslim League N party served as prime minister for 16 months until new elections were announced in August 2023.
Nawaz Sharif took the oath along with his brother Shehbaz on Thursday amid protests by Imran Khan’s party members against alleged vote rigging.
“Historic footage of the swearing-in ceremony of the 16th National Assembly!” the PML-N X handle posted along with the hashtag #MeraQuaidPhirSeAya and the 1:18 minute video.
Video showed the elder Mr Sharif smiling as he entered parliament before approaching many members of his party and shaking hands while a party song, “Sher Aaya” (Here Comes the Lion Nawaz Sharif), played in the background.
Under the constitution, a party must win 133 of the 265 contested seats in the 266-member National Assembly to form a government.
Independent candidates won 93 National Assembly seats, most of them backed by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party of 71-year-old jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. PML-N won 75 seats, while the PPP came in third with 54 seats. Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has 17 seats.
This leaves the PML-N and PPP in an alliance with four smaller parties to prevent Khan’s PTI from taking power. Shehbaz replaced Nawaz as prime minister as part of the arrangement, which is said to have the backing of the powerful military.
Nawaz Sharif surprised many inside and outside the party by nominating Shehbaz Sharif as the next prime minister, with Sharif himself seeking the position for the fourth time.
However, Muslim League-Sharif leader and Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz reiterated that Nawaz Sharif will not quit politics and he will continue to lead the party.
Ironically, the pinned post on PMLN Chairman
Nawaz Sharif expressed hope on Wednesday that Pakistan would be able to come out of its difficult situation in the next two years by taking tough decisions as his party is ready to form a coalition government at the centre.
“I believe the next 1.5 or 2 years will be difficult but we have to stay united [during the difficult times] and face our opponents,” he said while addressing a parliamentary party meeting.
“Pakistan will come out of this mess in the next 1.5 to 2 years,” he said. The three-time former prime minister said Pakistan was “badly wounded” and now needed to make tough decisions to resolve the country’s woes.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
