Shehbaz set to return as Pak's PM after old-guard parties form coalition

By Kamran Haider
 

Shehbaz Sharif is set to return as Pakistan’s prime minister after two old-guard parties formed a coalition to keep jailed politician Imran Khan’s party out of power.

Lawmakers are scheduled to vote for the next premier in the National Assembly, or lower house on Sunday. Sharif is competing against Omar Ayub Khan, a grandson of Pakistan’s first military dictator, and the candidate backed by Imran Khan. The house on Friday elected Sharif’s candidate Ayaz Sadiq as speaker.

Sharif was prime minister until parliament was dissolved in August in the leadup to elections, and he handed power to a caretaker government. Last month’s polls provided an inconclusive result with no group winning a clear mandate, prompting two family-controlled parties — the Pakistan Muslim League-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party — to negotiate and nominate Sharif as their candidate.

The Pakistan Muslim League-N is led by Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of Shehbaz and a three-time prime minister, while the Pakistan Peoples Party is co-chaired by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Former premier Khan’s independent candidates defied the odds and secured the most seats in the election but refused to form a coalition government with other main parties. Khan’s loyalists have accused authorities of widespread rigging in the poll. 

The new government will seek a fresh loan of at least $6 billion from the International Monetary Fund with the current program ending in April, highlighting the fragile state of the economy. Sharif said last month that Pakistan will need to secure a new loan at the earliest. 

The younger Sharif brother helped Pakistan avoid default last year by securing its current $3 billion loan program. He took unpopular steps, including removing fuel subsidies and raising energy prices, to meet the IMF’s conditions. 

Shehbaz’s nomination for the top position is a surprise after Nawaz returned from exile after four years in London to contest the election. Shehbaz is seen widely to have maintained good ties with the military that is expected to influence key decisions from behind the scenes.