Shehbaz Sharif sworn in as 24th prime minister of Pakistan
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Prime Ministert Shehbaz Sharif on Monday took oath of his office at an impressive swearing-in ceremony held at the President’s House, taking over the reins of the government for a second time amidst staggering economy and security challenges, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
President Arif Alvi again administered oath to the second-time premier and the 24th prime minister of Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif first sworn in by President Alvi in April 2022 after the ouster of then prime minister Imran Khan through a no-confidence vote.
It was attended amongst others by PML-N Quaid Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, PPP Co Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, the Chief Ministers of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan and the parliamentarians.
Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir and other services chiefs were also in attendance.
براہِ راست: نومنتخب وزیر اعظم شہباز شریف کی تقریب حلف برداری۔ https://t.co/RpQAg9ic7X
— PMLN (@pmln_org) March 4, 2024
Later, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was given a guard of honour at the Prime Minister House as he assumed the responsibilities of the office. He inspected the guard of honour and took the salute.
نومنتخب وزیر اعظم شہباز شریف کو گارڈ آف آنر پیش کیا جا رہا ہے۔ https://t.co/YQ6SElA5Jv
— PMLN (@pmln_org) March 4, 2024
On the occasion, the Prime Minister also met with the staff of the PM House.
Shehbaz, 72, earlier had served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023 before the National Assembly was dissolved to pave way for general elections which were held last month.
On Sunday, Shehbaz Sharif was comfortably elected as Leader of the House in the lower house of the Parliament by winning a majority vote amidst sloganeering by the Opposition.
Shehbaz, the consensus candidate of the PML-N, the PPP and other allies, received 201 votes in the 336-member assembly. His challenger SIC’s Omar Ayub Khan secured 92 votes.
In the February 8 polls, marred by allegations of vote rigging, the Sharifs-led party failed to garner a clear majority, albeit technically, it is the largest party with 75 out of the 265 contested seats.
Shehbaz, known to be an astute politician and a good administrator, was tasked by his elder brother and former three-time prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, to negotiate with other like-minded parties on the formation of a coalition government.
Besides the PPP, Shehbaz was backed by the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League (Q), Balochistan Awami Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Z), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party and the National Party.
In his first speech after being elected as prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif spoke at length about the struggling economy and said it would require reforms to rid the country of financial difficulties.
During Shehbaz’s two successive tenures as chief minister of Punjab (2008-2013 and 2013-2018), a network of underpasses, overhead bridges and mass transit systems was introduced in the most populous province of Punjab and was completed in record time.
Reporter Awais Kiyani