Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Opposition Leader, Elected New PM
NDTV
Imran Khan resigned as a member of the National Assembly, saying he will not sit in the assemblies with "thieves". His party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, boycotted the voting and the lawmakers staged a walkout.
Shehbaz Sharif -- the 70-year-old brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the leader of opposition PML-N -- has been elected unopposed as the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, succeeding Imran Khan, who was removed by a no-trust vote on Saturday. Ahead of the election of the new Prime Minister, Imran Khan resigned as a member of the National Assembly, saying he will not sit in the assemblies with "thieves". His party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, boycotted the voting and the lawmakers staged a walkout.
The PTI had fielded Shah Mahmood Qureshi as its Prime Ministerial candidate.
But minutes before the session, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said all PTI lawmakers will resign from the National Assembly and not become part of any government which was being formed under a "foreign agenda", The reference was to Mr Khan's allegation that the US was involved in a conspiracy with the opposition to topple his government.
The decision, Mr Chaudhry said, was taken at a meeting of lawmakers of the party ahead of prime ministerial elections.
