Shehbaz sworn-in as 23rd PM of Pak, rakes Kashmir in his inaugural speech

Islamabad: Shehbaz Sharif was sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan on Monday, bringing to an end the political uncertainty that had gripped the country since a no-confidence motion was introduced against his predecessor Imran Khan on March 8.

Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani administered oath of office to 70-year-old Shehbaz in President Dr Arif Alvi's absence, who went on 'sick' leave ahead of the PML-N leader's inauguration.

Earlier, Pakistan Parliament elected unopposed Shehbaz who was the only candidate left in the race after former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party will boycott the voting and staged a walkout.

"Sharif has secured 174 votes and has been declared as prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan," according to the formal result announced by Speaker Ayaz Sadiq who presided over the National Assembly session after Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri said his conscience did not allow him to conduct the session. In the House of 342, the winning candidate should get support of at least 172 lawmakers.

Soon after he was elected as Pakistan's 23rd Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif in his inaugural speech raised the issue of abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and alleged that the people in the Valley were bleeding and Pakistan will provide them with "diplomatic and moral support" besides raising the matter at every international fora.

He said that neighbours are not a matter of choice, it is something we have to live with and unfortunately Pakistan's ties with India were never good since its inception.

He attacked Khan for not making "serious and diplomatic efforts" when India abrogated the Article 370 in August 2019.

"When the forceful encroachment was done in August 2019 and Article 370 was abrogated, what serious efforts did we make...what serious diplomacy did we try...Kashmiris' blood is flowing on roads of Kashmir and the Kashmir Valley is red with their blood," said Shehbaz, the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

He expressed a desire for better ties with India but linked it with the Kashmir issue.

"We want good ties with India but durable peace is not possible until the Kashmir dispute is resolved," he said, adding that Pakistan would continue to provide political, diplomatic and moral support to the people of Kashmir.

"We will raise voice for Kashmiris brothers and sisters at every forum. We will give them diplomatic and moral support," he added.

Shehbaz also asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward to address the Kashmir issue so that the two countries could concentrate on tackling poverty, unemployment, shortage of medicines and other issues.

"Why do we want our coming generations to suffer. Come, let's resolve the Kashmir issue in line with UN resolutions and Kashmiris' expectations, so that we are able to end poverty on both sides of the border," he added.

In his maiden address to the house as the prime minister, Shehbaz said that 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," he said.

He said today is a "big day" for the entire nation as a "selected" prime minister has been sent home in a legal and constitutional manner.

Shehbaz, the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, said that the US dollar's value declining by Rs 8 today signified the "happiness of the people".

He acknowledged the apex court's "unanimous" verdict, saying the day when the Supreme Court gave its judgment should be marked as a historic day in the history of Pakistan.

On the letter controversy, Shehbaz said the letter came on March 7, but decisions to bring a no-trust motion was made way before that.

"So, if (what the previous government claimed) is a lie, then the matter should be disclosed transparently before the public," he said.

He announced that the parliament's security committee would be given a briefing on the "threat letter" to the members of the committee in presence of the armed forces personnel and bureaucrats the Inter-Services Intelligence chief, foreign secretary, and the ambassador who wrote it.

He also lauded China for its support to Pakistan on the world stage and said the friendship between the two countries will remain intact.

He also thanked his brother and ex-premier Nawaz Sharif for his support.

Earlier, Qureshi in his address announced to boycott the process along with party lawmakers by announcing their mass resignation from the parliament. His decision was not sudden as the party had already announced it would leave the parliament and boycott the election to elect the new prime minister of the country.

The younger Sharif is known as an able administrator who served for years as chief minister of Punjab, the largest province of the country and greatly transformed the road infrastructure of the province. The successful completion of the process to carry through the no-confidence motion and elect the new leader of the house has for the time being ended the political instability. But the resignation by PTI and its decision to launch protest rallies has seeds of a fresh round of chaos.