Shehbaz Sharif, the Leader of the Opposition, is widely seen as a frontrunner for the role of Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is barely recognised outside of Pakistan, although he has a domestic reputation as a capable administrator.
The 70-year-old is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and is leading the opposition’s attempt to destabilise the government of Imran Khan, who was dismissed as Prime Minister of Pakistan on Sunday after losing a no-confidence vote in parliament after weeks of political turmoil.
Analysts say Shehbaz, unlike Nawaz Sharif, has friendly relations with Pakistan’s military, which usually dominates the country’s foreign and defence policies.
Shehbaz Sharif’s administrative skills were on display when he worked closely with China on Beijing-funded projects as chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab province.
He said in an interview last week that good ties with the US were critical for Pakistan for better or for worse, in contrast to Mr Khan’s antagonistic relationship with Washington.
Following a military takeover in Pakistan in 1999, Shehbaz was imprisoned and exiled to Saudi Arabia. In 2007, he returned to the country. After Nawaz Sharif was found guilty in 2017 on charges of hiding assets related to the Panama Papers revelations, Shehbaz rose to the top of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party.
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.
