Pakistan’s National Assembly speaker confuses Shehbaz Sharif with ex-PM Nawaz Sharif, apologises
India Today
Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday pronounced the name of deposed PM Nawaz Sharif instead of Shehbaz Sharif during a crucial session to elect Imran Khan's successor. He subsequently apologised for his mistake.
In an apparent slip of tongue, Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Monday pronounced the name of deposed premier Nawaz Sharif instead of Shehbaz Sharif during the crucial session to elect Imran Khan's successor and apologised for his mistake.
Sadiq, ahead of conducting the voting in the National Assembly to elect the next prime minister, read a document containing the name of Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) President Shehbaz Sharif.
The Speaker, however, pronounced the name of Nawaz Sharif who is in London.
After realising that he had pronounced the wrong name, Sadiq accepted the mistake and apologised, saying the PML-N supremo was “in his heart as well as in his mind”.
In the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, a couple of PML-(N) lawmakers and PML-N vice president Maryam Nawaz were seen holding portraits of Nawaz Sharif to show their support.
After the voting, Shehbaz Sharif, 70, was elected unopposed as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan by Parliament after rival candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party will boycott the voting and staged a walkout.
Shehbaz Sharif received 174 votes - two more than the simple majority of 172. He is the 23rd prime minister of Pakistan.
