Shehbaz Sharif returns as Pakistan’s Prime Minister in coalition victory

Shehbaz, aged 72, the joint nominee of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), secured 201 votes in the 336-member house.

Islamabad: Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday became the prime minister of Pakistan for a second time to lead a coalition government after he comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament.

Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes in the 336-member house.

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Shehbaz’s challenger Omar Ayub Khan of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured 92 votes.

The session of the new parliament convened amid ruckus and sloganeering by PTI-backed lawmakers.

Shehbaz will be administered the oath of office on Monday at the Presidential mansion, Aiwan-e-Sadr.

Shehbaz earlier served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023 before Parliament was dissolved to hold general elections.