- The new Prime Minister Sharif is seen as closer to the West
- Pledges to fix the economy, improve relations with the US, India and China
- Ousted Prime Minister Khan vows to continue agitation
ISLAMABAD, April 11 – More than 100 MPs loyal to ousted Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan resigned on Monday, giving new, pro-Western incumbent Shehbaz Sharif a headache as he seeks to reinstate his country get out of the political and economic crisis.
Monday’s general election of 70-year-old Sharif as prime minister followed a week-long constitutional crisis that culminated on Sunday when 69-year-old Khan lost a no-confidence vote in parliament.
His resignation from power sparked street protests and a mass resignation of MPs from Khan’s Pakistani Tehreek-e-Insaf party in protest at the imminent change of government.
If the resignations are accepted by the speaker, Pakistan faces the prospect of more than 100 by-elections within two months, a major distraction for Sharif and his coalition partners and a potential platform for Khan to mobilize his support.
That, in turn, could ensure the nuclear-armed nation of 220 million remains vulnerable to political and economic turmoil.
Sharif has a domestic reputation as an effective administrator rather than a politician. He is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. L2N2W70HM
Analysts say that unlike Nawaz, Shehbaz maintains friendly relations with the Pakistani military, which traditionally controls foreign and defense policy.
Following Monday’s vote, Sharif pledged to tackle an economic malaise that has caused the rupee to hit an all-time low and the central bank to implement the biggest rate hike in decades last week.
“If we have to save the sinking boat, we all need hard work and unity, unity and unity,” he told parliament.
“We are beginning a new era of development today.”
He took the oath of office at Pakistan’s presidential residence late Monday at a ceremony packed with lawmakers and leaders of the combined opposition.
RESET TIES
Pakistan’s Prime Minister-elect Shehbaz Sharif speaks after winning a parliamentary vote to elect a new prime minister at the National Assembly in Islamabad, Pakistan April 11, 2022. Press Information Department (PID)/Handout via REUTERS
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The younger Sharif emerged as the leader of a united opposition to oust Khan, a former cricket star who has claimed the United States was behind his downfall, a claim Washington denies.
Sharif said in an interview last week that good relations with the United States are crucial for Pakistan, for better or for worse, in stark contrast to Khan’s prickly ties with Washington.
In his inaugural speech, he also spoke of improving relations with neighboring India and China.
“We want good relations with India, but without Kashmir’s solution, lasting peace is not possible,” he said, referring to the contested Himalayan territory over which the countries have fought several wars.
He said his government will accelerate construction of the $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) – part of Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative.
MILITARY FALLOUTS
No elected prime minister has served a full term since Pakistan gained independence from colonial Britain in 1947, although Khan is the first to be ousted by a vote of no confidence.
The military has ruled the country for nearly half of its nearly 75-year history. When he won the 2018 election, Khan and his conservative agenda took a positive view.
That support waned after a row over the appointment of a military intelligence chief and economic problems.
Khan remained defiant after his defeat in Parliament.
Thousands of his supporters in several cities protested his overthrow, which lasted until the early hours of Monday morning.
Barred from holding public office by the Supreme Court in 2017, Nawaz Sharif subsequently went abroad for medical treatment after serving just months of a 10-year sentence on corruption charges.
“There can be no greater insult to this country,” Khan, who was deposed in the early hours of Sunday, told reporters Monday about the prospect of Shehbaz Sharif being elected.
Reporting by Asif Shahzad, Syed Raza Hassan and Gibran Naiyyar Peshimam in Islamabad; Additional reporting by Jibran Ahmad in Peshawar and Gul Yousafzai in Quetta; Writing from Alasdair Pal; Edited by Simon Cameron-Moore, William Maclean and Howard Goller