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Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as the country’s 23rd prime minister at President’s House in the capital Islamabad on Monday.
Acting President and Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani administered oath to Shehbaz Sharif in the absence of President Dr Arif Alvi who went on ‘sick’ leave ahead of the ceremony.
Earlier in the day , the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament elected Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the leader of the house after 174 lawmakers voted in his favour after Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf MNAs boycotted the election.
PTI MNAs had walked out of the halls, with Shah Mahmood Qureshi — who was the party’s candidate for the top slot — announcing that they would be resigning en masse from the NA.
After the PTI boycotted the elections and walked out of the assembly, Shehbaz remained the lone contender for the prime minister’s slot and was consequently elected as the country’s chief executive.
PML-N’s Ayaz Sadiq presided over today’s session after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri said his conscience did not allow him to conduct the session.
Following his election, Shehbaz announced several policy measures he intended to take as the prime minister, with a particular focus on the economy and foreign relations.
Policy measures
Minimum wage to be increased to Rs25,000 from April 1
10pc increase in pensions from April 1
Wheat flour to be made available at a reduced price under a Ramazan package
Shehbaz commits to making Pakistan a “paradise for investments”
High electricity prices will be addressed
Measures to be taken for the progress of smaller provinces, where the youth will be given technical education and laptops
Ties to be strengthened with China, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, UK and Iran
Good ties with India conditional on the “just” resolution of Kashmir dispute
Voice will be raised for Kashmiris, Palestinians and Afghanistan
The newly elected prime minister announced that he would be making arrangements for an in-camera briefing of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security to discuss and determine the authenticity of a diplomatic cable that the PTI claimed contained evidence of a foreign conspiracy to topple its government.
In his maiden address to the house as the prime minister, Shehbaz thanked Allah for “saving Pakistan”.
He said it was the first time in Pakistan’s history that a no-confidence motion against a prime minister had been successful. “And good has prevailed over evil.”
Shehbaz said today was a “big day” for the entire nation when a “selected” prime minister was sent packing in a legal and constitutional manner.
He added that the US dollar’s value declining by Rs8 signified the “happiness of the people”.
The newly elected prime minister also thanked the Supreme Court (SC) for burying the doctrine of necessity forever. “In the future, no one will be able to rely on it,” he said.
He said the day when the SC ruled against the dismissal of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan by Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri should be remembered as one when the supremacy of the Constitution and parliament was established.
Shehbaz said a “drama” had been going on over the past few weeks and lies were being told about a “letter”, which was said to contain evidence of a foreign conspiracy to topple the PTI government.
He said the deputy speaker had waved the cable yesterday in the assembly and requested the NA secretary to show it to him (Shehbaz), who was the leader of the opposition at the time.
“But neither did I see it nor anyone showed it to me,” he said. It was a “lie, drama and fraud” he added, as he went on to clarify that there was no conspiracy linked to the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan.
He said the PTI had been alleging that they had received the cable on March 7, a day before the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan was filed. “But I have been meeting Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on this (the vote of no-confidence) since the initial days of March.”
On March 3, Shehbaz continued, Nawaz held a meeting of the PML-N’s central executive committee and PPP held a separate meeting of its own. “And we decided that we would bring a vote of no-confidence against the most corrupt, incompetent and laid back government in history”.
He said the matter was then discussed with the Pakistan Democratic Movement and the motion was eventually filed on March 8.
“They say they received the cable on March 7, but we have been holding meetings way before that,” Shehbaz said.
Stressing that the nation should be made aware of the truth, he announced that he intended to hold an in-camera briefing of the parliamentary committee on security, where the military leadership, Inter-Services Intelligence director general, foreign secretary and the ambassador who sent the letter should be present.
“The nation should know whether they have been lied to,” he said, adding that even if an iota of evidence of a foreign conspiracy was found, “I will go home”.
“This debate should be laid to rest and I will make arrangements for the in-camera session at the earliest,” Shehbaz said.
Decrying the “injustices” witnessed in “naya” Pakistan, he said: “No one is a traitor before and no one is a traitor now”.
Turning his attention to the economy, Shehbaz remarked, “I have said it many times that a life of debt is no life.”
Highlighting the importance of hard work and financial independence, he said, “If we have to survive, we have to do it like an honourable and self-relying nation. Else, we cannot regain our lost status.”
“And if we have to take the country’s economy forward, we will have to opt for dialogue over deadlock … and rapprochement over disagreements,” he underlined.
Taking a jibe at the PTI over its slogan of “tabdeeli” (change), he said, “Change doesn’t come simply by talking.”
Over the past four years, he added, “our society was poisoned and it will take years to clean this poisoned water. And this will only be possible if we stay united.”
“Otherwise, difficulties and disappointment will be our destiny.”
Shehbaz termed the country’s economic situation “very serious” and emphasised the need for hard work to improve the economy.
Addressing the leaders of other parties, he said, “If we have to save the sinking boat, then we have to stay united and work hard.”
“The situation is very bad but, God willing, it will change if we work hard.”
He lamented that the previous government had rejected his proposal of introducing a “charter of economy” to improve the economic situation.
“Had they not rejected it in a humiliating manner, the economy would not have been in such a bad state today,” Shehbaz added.
Shehbaz went on paint a bleak picture of the country’s economy and assailed the previous government for its economic policies.
He then expressed the resolve to rebuild Pakistan, announcing that his government would increase the minimum wage to Rs25,000 from April 1. Necessary legal procedures would be undertaken regarding this with the help of the provinces, he added.
Shehbaz further committed to making Pakistan a “paradise for investments” and appealed to investors to increase the salaries of their employees who monthly income was Rs100,000 or less.
He also announced a 10 per cent increase in the pension of civil and military pensioners. This, too, would be implemented from April 1, he said.
Moreover, Shehbaz said atta (wheat flour) would be made available at cheaper rates under a Ramazan package.
Further, he said, “we will also address the high prices of electricity” and take measures for the progress of smaller provinces.
“Punjab is the elder brother but not the entire Pakistan. We will take smaller provinces along ourselves and move forward,” he commented. “We will give the youth of Balochistan, erstwhile Fata and other provinces technical education and skills instead of weapons.”
Shehbaz further announced that “Benazir card” would be reintroduced, which was renamed in the previous government’s tenure. He said the programme would be expanded to cover education.
