PM election: ‘Accused’ Shehbaz Sharif vs ‘anti-US’ Shah Mahmood Qureshi

ISLAMABAD: After the ouster of Imran Khan as the prime minister, the National Assembly (NA) will elect the new Leader of the House in an electoral contest between Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif, who is accused of corruption cases including money laundering, and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Vice-Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi after his party adopted anti-US narrative.

The Lower House of the Parliament will see an interesting electoral contest after the war of narratives between the joint opposition and the formerly ruling party, PTI.

The PTI has blamed the joint opposition for colluding with the United States (US) to topple its government led by Imran Khan for adopting an independent foreign policy. On the other hand, the joint opposition blamed the PTI for making an attempt to isolate Pakistan on the diplomatic front by challenging the US monopoly and the European nations.

The joint opposition had managed to oust Imran Khan through a no-trust motion, on the other hand, the PTI has also managed to successfully build a narrative among the masses against the US conspiracy that led to toppling its government with the help of the opposition parties.

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A tough contest is likely to be seen today as Shehbaz Sharif is facing accusations of corrupt practices, whereas, Shah Mahmood Qureshi is standing with PTI’s anti-US narrative to resist the corrupt and facilitators of the foreign conspirators.

Yesterday, both candidates submitted their nomination papers to the NA Secretariat which were accepted by the officials.

Shehbaz Sharif

The politician is the former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly since August 2018 and the president of the largest opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) after his brother Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from holding office.

He had served as the chief minister of Punjab thrice, making him the longest-serving CM of the province.

Sharif had been elected as an MPA in 1988 and later as an MNA in 1990. He had become Punjab’s chief minister in 1997.

He and his family had spent many years of self-exile in Saudi Arabia following a military coup in 1999. They returned to Pakistan in 2007 and Sharif was re-elected as the Punjab CM for the second term.

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The politician and his family were accused in many corruption cases including money laundering via using different tactics by using bank accounts of labourers and other means to transfer public money to the foreign countries.

Shah Mahmood Qureshi

Shah Mahmood Qureshi started his political career in 1985 after being elected as a Member of the Provincial Assembly (MPA) in Punjab from Multan. He had served as the foreign minister from 2008 to 2011 and from 2018 to 2022.

He had joined Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) in 1986 and later, he had joined Nawaz Sharif’s faction of the political party.

In the prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s cabinet in 1988, Qureshi had served as the planning and development minister and later he had been appointed as Punjab’s finance minister in 1990.

In 1993, Qureshi joined Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and in 2006, his name was considered for the position of the prime minister in the 2008 elections by the political party but he was appointed as the foreign minister.

He had joined the PTI in 2011 and was later elevated to the party’s vice-chairman post by Imran Khan. He served as the foreign minister from 2018 to 2022 till the PTI lost power after the departure of Imran Khan following a no-trust move.