A steadfast ally of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mr Abbasi, 58, has taken over as an interim prime minister of Pakistan after the Supreme Court disqualified Sharif from the office over corruption charges and was forced to resign.
The country’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had named Nawaz Sharif”s younger brother, who is the Chief Minister of Punjab, as his successor last week.
But since Shahbaz holds only a provincial seat, he must first enter the Parliament by contesting the seat vacated by his elder brother. He will also have to resign as member of the state legislative of Punjab and the party would have a new chief minister as well.
The 58-year-old loyalist of Nawaz Sharif will hold the PM’s office for a period of 45 days after Pakistan’s opposition parties failed to agree on a joint candidate against PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Nawaz Sharif was the 15th Prime Minister in Pakistan”s 70-year history—roughly half of which was under military rule—to be removed before term.
His staunch loyalist Abbasi has gone to prison for his political patron. He spent two years behind bars after a 1999 coup, in which Mr Sharif was overthrown by Gen Pervez Musharraf.
