Shehbaz Sharif poised to act as PML-N president

Islamabad: Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif is the most likely candidate to head the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), taking over from founding leader Nawaz Sharif who was disqualified by the Supreme Court.

According to Pakistan media reports, Shehbaz Sharif is poised to be selected as party chief shortly.

Shehbaz Sharif who is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been leading the PML-N in Pakistan’s largest Punjab province and has been the chief minister (CM) of the province over the last nine years.

It has been reported that Shehbaz Sharif’s name was finalised on February 22 in a close-door party meeting held at Jati Umra, the home of Sharif family.

Shehbaz met with Nawaz to discuss party matters on Sunday, and the two leaders discussed the senate elections and likely political scenarios for the government in Punjab.

Earlier, there were reports that Nawaz Sharif’s wife Kulsoom Nawaz or daughter Maryam Nawaz could be elected as the party chief.

However, during a party meeting on Sunday, the name of Shehbaz Sharif was agreed after a party consensus.

It is not clear whether, after becoming party chief, Shehbaz Sharif would also be nominated as interim prime minister replacing the current Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi or he would continue to serve as chief minister.

Should Shehbaz become the interim PM, another senior leader from PML-N would be elected as Punjab CM by the provincial assembly where PML-N has absolute majority.

Shehbaz’s son Hamza Sharif who is also active in politics and leading member of PML-N in Punjab is likely to get a senior position in Punjab government. There are reports that some party leaders were lobbying for Hamza Sharif to become next chief minister of Punjab.

Pakistan’s ruling party is busy in chalking out future strategy after the country’s top court barred former PML-N chief from heading party. Sharif had earlier been deemed unfit to hold public office in the landmark Panama Papers judgement by Supreme Court.

The second disqualification sent shock waves through the ruling PML-N at a time when the senate elections are scheduled for March 3 and the parliamentary elections will be held in July.

Who is Shehbaz Sharif?

Front-runner for the top slot of the PML-N, Shehbaz Sharif, was born in 1951. He is a graduate of Government College, Lahore and was elected president of Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1985.

He belongs to a business family and is the brother of three-time elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif. His political careers that spans over four decades began in 1988 when he was first elected to Punjab Assembly. Later, he was elected to the National Assembly in 1990.

In 1997, he became Member of Punjab Assembly for the third time and also elected as Chief Minister. After the 1999 military coup, Shehbaz Sharif spent years of self-exile in Saudi Arabia, finally returning home in 2007. Shehbaz was appointed as a CM for a second term after the PML-N’s victory in the province in the 2008 general elections.

After May 2013 election, Shehbaz was elected to the post a record 3rd time making him Punjab’s longest-serving chief ministers. During his tenure, he focused on health, education, agriculture and industrial sectors and initiated several development projects in Lahore.

Shehbaz is best known for his strong and efficient administration. He is also an arch-rival of Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.

He married his cousin, Nusrat Shehbaz in 1973 and had two sons, Salman and Hamza, and two daughters Javeria and Rabia. In 2003, Sharif got married in 2003 to Tehmina Durrani, Pakistani women’s rights activist and author of the book ‘My Feudal Lord.’