Pakistan’s ruling party plans to appoint the brother of ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as his successor to contest next year’s general elections, local media reported yesterday, but will first have to appoint an interim prime minister.
Shahbaz Sharif, 65, chief minister of vast Punjab Province, which accounts for more than half of Pakistan’s 190 million people, would need to be elected to the Pakistani National Assembly before he can take over as leader of the country.
Nawaz Sharif’s resignation on Friday has plunged the nuclear-armed nation into political turmoil after several years of relative stability. Nawaz Sharif quit after he was disqualified for public office by the Pakistani Supreme Court over undeclared assets.
The court has also ordered a criminal investigation into Nawaz Sharif, 67, and his family.
He has always denied any wrongdoing and his toppling has rekindled concerns about Pakistan’s democracy after a member of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party hinted that elements of the powerful military were in some way involved.
“We know very well what the crime of Nawaz Sharif and the Muslim League is. What do we ask for? We ask for civilian supremacy in Pakistan,” outgoing Pakistani Minister for Railway Khawaja Saad Rafiq told a news briefing.
However, questioned further, Rafiq would not name the military as a whole.
The army has not commented on Nawaz Sharif’s removal, or allegations they were involved. In the past the army has dismissed claims that they are behind court’s push against him.
The Muslim League was yesterday scheduled to meet and was likely to appoint a short-term leader to fill the vacuum until Shahbaz Sharif becomes an elected lawmaker, the English-language News and Dawn newspapers reported.
“This decision was taken here at the PM House [Prime Minister’s Secretariat] on Friday,” News reported yesterday.
Among possible allies to replace Nawaz Sharif in the short term are members of his outgoing Cabinet, including Minister for Defence Asif Khawaja, Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Abbasi.
If elected, the interim leader would be in power for at least 45 days until Shahbaz Sharif steps down as the head of the Punjab government and contests a by-election to the national assembly.
Rafiq on Friday told Geo TV late that it has not been decided whether the interim leader would be in power for a 45-day period or until the next general election, which must be held by early August next year.
Whoever replaces Nawaz Sharif will have to tackle Pakistan’s worsening ties with the US, frayed relations with India and persistent attacks by Muslim militants, including the Pakistani Taliban and the Islamic State.
The state of the economy — which is growing at its fastest pace in a decade — has also began to concern economists, who are warning an overvalued currency is hurting exports and urge action over a ballooning current account deficit.
Shahbaz Sharif has been in charge of Punjab since 2008, building a reputation as a competent administrator focused on building infrastructure. He also has better relations with the military than his brother.
The opposition has hailed the court’s decision to remove Nawaz Sharif as a sign of progress and greater accountability in a nation where impunity is rife.
“They have given Pakistan hope. This is what everyone is celebrating,” Imran Khan, the cricketer-turned-politician who leads the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, said on Friday.
PTI plans to hold a victory rally today.
Nawaz Sharif, who has served three separate stints as prime minister, has not commented on the court’s verdict against him, but the Muslim League said it had “serious reservations” about the judicial process.
Nawaz Sharif was investigated for corruption after the so-called “Panama Papers” data leak revealed his family used offshore companies to buy posh London apartments.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
RIVER TRAGEDY: Local fishers and residents helped rescue people after the vessel capsized, while motorbike taxis evacuated some of the injured At least 58 people going to a funeral died after their overloaded river boat capsized in the Central African Republic’s (CAR) capital, Bangui, the head of civil protection said on Saturday. “We were able to extract 58 lifeless bodies,” Thomas Djimasse told Radio Guira. “We don’t know the total number of people who are underwater. According to witnesses and videos on social media, the wooden boat was carrying more than 300 people — some standing and others perched on wooden structures — when it sank on the Mpoko River on Friday. The vessel was heading to the funeral of a village chief in