• ‘I still do not understand the grounds for my dismissal,’ says a visibly dejected Nawaz

ALI HUSSAIN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Saturday decided to replace Nawaz Sharif with his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif as the next Prime Minister of Pakistan.

The announcement to this effect was made by Nawaz Sharif himself after chairing a parliamentary party meeting in which he also announced that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi would take over as the Prime Minister for an interim period of 50 to 55 days.

“Now as I have quit my position [as PM], and to whom you are supposed to extend you support is Shahbaz Sharif. But it would take him 50 to 55 days to get elected to the National Assembly,” Nawaz Sharif told his parliamentary party meeting in a state-run PTV recorded televised address.

Till the election of Shahbaz Sharif to National Assembly, he said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi would be the Prime Minister for two to two and a half months.

The decision was reached followed a series of consultation process both within the party and with the coalition partners for the last two days and the parliamentary party also endorsed the nominations of both the contenders.

“Now I am going to say goodbye to you, but I will always be with you,” Nawaz Sharif told his party’s parliamentarians.

In his first reaction to Supreme Court verdict, the former prime minister also challenged the grounds under which he was disqualified by the apex court.

“I still do not understand the grounds for my dismissal…I am only content that I was not disqualified on the grounds of alleged corruption…When I never took a salary, what would I declare,” he said, referring to the ground on which he was disqualified by the apex court.

“I have been disqualified for not withdrawing salary from my own son’s company. How is this justified? Why did I need to inform the Election Commission about this when I didn’t withdraw any money?”

“There’s a problem when you take something, and it’s still a problem when you don’t,” he further stated, referring to his earlier stance that he was not drawing any salary from Capital FZE Jebel Ali as it chairman.

He also asked: “Is it only my family that should be held accountable? Is everyone else in this country is sadiq and ameen?” He called upon his political rivals to reveal their assets and sources of income as well.

“Everybody across the world is talking about this [SC] judgment. Read their publications and see what they’re saying…What more can I add?” he said, adding the way they have been treated was “shameful”.

He further said his conscience is “clear”, adding “if I had done something wrong or took something from this country that does not belong to me, then I would have felt the guilt myself”.

Sharif recalled that through his life he was forced to exile, sent to jail, sentenced for 27 years in jail and even described as a hijacker being a sitting prime minister. “I’ve gone through all these and suffered as well…There have been premiers in the past, they’ve been hanged, and you’ve seen all that”.

To what he said should be the way forward, he said that there should be supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law in the country, adding the countrymen had regrettable moments in the history, but the future should be free of these regrets.

He further said that all should sit together and think as to how we run this country in a better way. “I don’t care for myself, but I only care for this country and its people,” he added.

“I will always defend the rule of law and the Constitution like a jawaan [youth] who is willing to lay down his life for the country,” Sharif said. He also asked the party members to support him.

“The 200 million people of this country are looking at you. Whatever happened has happened, I am happy there’s no blemish on my character,” he further told his party lawmakers, adding that “we have to change Pakistan.”

He further said that he had no thirst for the power and that he no longer desires office but wanted that the country is free of its burdens.

Sharif also claimed that he did not receive any kickbacks or commissions and never compromised on principles. “The nation now knows why I was declared ineligible…Let the people decide over whatever is happening,” he added

He said that during his tenure, the major challenges facing the country have been effectively addressed, adding the defence of the country has been made impregnable and peace restored in the country.

He further said the backbone of terrorists has been broken and soon Pakistan will be turned into a terrorism-free country. He said load-shedding of electricity has been significantly reduced due to the efforts of the incumbent government.

AFP adds: Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan’s prime minister-in-waiting and current chief minister of the powerful Punjab province, is considered the more intelligent younger brother of the charismatic three-time premier Nawaz.

Shahbaz Sharif was named as his brother’s successor Saturday, becoming heir to the Sharif political dynasty — but first he will have to contest elections to win a national assembly seat.

A tough administrator with a reputation for passionate outbursts and a fondness for hats, he was first elected as chief minister in Punjab in 1997.

Two years later General Pervez Musharraf ousted his brother — then serving his second term as prime minister — in a military coup and both brothers went into exile in Saudi Arabia, not returning until 2007.

Shahbaz was again elected as chief minister of Punjab, the family’s power base, in 2008 and has been in place since then, becoming the longest serving top official in the province.

In Punjab — Pakistan’s most populous and prosperous province — he has presided over a series of big ticket infrastructure projects, including Pakistan’s first metro bus service.

He is known for using revolutionary poetry in speeches and public meetings and considered by some to be a workaholic.

His scandalous relationships fuelled headlines in the past, but his marriage to the author Tehmina Durrani, who is his fifth wife, in 2003 has since dampened the media frenzy.

Durrani, a feminist whose book “My Feudal Lord” earned her international acclaim, is also credited with improving Sharif’s respect for women.

Sharif will have to resign his provincial seat and contest a National Assembly seat before stepping into his brother’s recently-vacated shoes as prime minister.