Pakistan: Shahbaz Sharif takes reins of PML-N, Nawaz given ceremonial post

Shahbaz Sharif was unanimously elected as interim president of Pakistan’s ruling PML-N on Tuesday while his elder brother and ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif was made the beleaguered party’s ‘Quaid’ (top leader) for lifetime.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) elected its new head days after the Supreme Court disqualified 68-year-old Nawaz as the chief of his party and struck down all decisions taken by him as the party head.

Shahbaz, the 66-year-old chief minister of Punjab province, has been elected as the party’s president for 45 days by its central working committee (CWC) in a meeting held in Sharif’s Model Town Lahore residence today.

In the meeting, Nawaz proposed the name of Shahbaz for the party’s interim president which was unanimously approved by the CWC.

The meeting also approved making Nawaz PML-N “Quaid” (top leader) for lifetime and also paid tributes to his service for the party, country and democracy.

“PML-N elects Nawaz as its Quaid for life. Raja Zafarul Haq, Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s proposal elicited a resounding approval from the CWC,” Nawaz’s daughter Maryam tweeted.

PML-N’s information secretary Senator Mushahidullah Khan told PTI there was no candidate for the slot of interim president of PML-N other than Shahbaz …read more