Islamabad, Mar 03: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples’ Party’s (PPP) candidate Shahbaz Sharif has been elected as the 24th Prime Minister of Pakistan.
The much-anticipated election for the prime minister’s post saw a head-to-head battle between Shahbaz Sharif and Omar Ayub from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) allied Sunni Ittehad Council.
The threshold for victory was set at 169 votes, with the National Assembly comprising 336 members. Shahbaz Sharif secured 201 votes.
The 16th National Assembly convened at noon, albeit with a one-hour delay, under the stewardship of Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. However, the proceedings were not without their fair share of drama. As the session commenced, members of the Sunni Ittehad Council staged protests and chants in front of the speaker’s podium, while PML-N representatives rallied behind slogans of “Ghari Chor“.
The voting process unfolded with members allocated specific lobbies corresponding to their preferred candidate. Supporters of Shahbaz Sharif congregated in lobby ‘A’, while backers of Omar Ayub gathered in lobby ‘B’.
(Courtesy: Hum News, Pakistan)