New Delhi: Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, will be succeeding his brother as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Sources said the decision on Nawaz's successor was taken in two separate meetings of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), chaired by Nawaz himself. Shahid Khagan Abbasi will be the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan because 65-year-old Shehbaz cannot immediately replace his brother since he is not a member of parliament.
The interim leader would be in power for at least 45 days until Shehbaz steps down as the head of the Punjab government, and contests a by-election to the national assembly.
Shehbaz is currently the chief minister of Pakistan's Punjab province. The first major public office held by Shehbaz was when in 1988 he was elected to the Punjab Provincial Assembly and later to the National Assembly in 1990.
Shehbaz was again elected to the Punjab Assembly in 1993 and named Leader of the Opposition. Elected a third time in 1997, Sharif was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Punjab on February 20, 1997.
The Supreme Court on Friday disqualified 67-year-old Sharif for dishonesty and ruled that corruption cases be filed against him and his children over the Panama Papers scandal, forcing the embattled leader out of office.
Sharif has always denied any wrongdoing and his toppling has rekindled concerns about Pakistan's democracy after a member of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) 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," Railways Minister Khawaja Saad Rafiq told a news briefing.
Questioned further, however, Rafiq would not name the military as a whole.
The army has not commented on Sharif's removal, or allegations they were involved. In the past the army has dismissed claims they are behind Supreme Court's push against Sharif.
Nawaz Sharif, who has served three separate stints as prime minister, has not commented on the Supreme Court verdict against him but his party said it had "serious reservations" about the judicial process.
Sharif was investigated for corruption after the "Panama Papers" data leak revealed his family used offshore companies to buy posh London apartments.
(With inputs from Reuters)
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