Islamabad [Pakistan], April 12 (ANI): After he was elected as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif said his focus is on providing as much relief as possible to Pakistanis and building relationships with other countries on the basis of mutual respect.
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif took oath as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan on Monday (11 April 2022) in the evening after being elected by the National Assembly. “I want to congratulate the people of Pakistan on the peaceful transition of power. It’s a matter of pride that today all our institutions respect Constitution as a guiding principle. If the stock market and strengthening currency is any indication, the journey towards our goals has already started,” Shehbaz Sharif tweeted.
“We also look forward to keeping building relationships with other countries on the basis of mutual respect, equality and peace,” he said in another tweet.
Shehbaz Sharif said that his focus is on providing as much relief as possible to all Pakistanis by tackling high inflation and kick-starting the stagnant economy. “Together we will make Pakistan a great nation, Insha’Allah. Pakistan Zindabad.”
Newly-elected Pakistan PM earlier on Monday said that his government wants good relations with India, but added that peace would not be possible without the resolution of the “Kashmir issue”.
Ousted Prime Minister Imran Khan has demanded “immediate elections” in the country, hours after Shehbaz Sharif took oath as the 23rd Prime Minister on Monday.
In a Tweet, Imran Khan who is the chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf said, “Let the people decide, through fair and free elections, whom they want as their prime minister. He also said that he would be holding a rally in Peshawar on April 13. “We are demanding immediate elections as that is the only way forward — to let the people decide, through fair & free elections, whom they want as their prime minister,” he Tweeted.
In his inaugural speech in the National Assembly soon after his election, Sharif touched on the abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and said that Pakistan will offer “diplomatic and moral support” to “Kashmiri brothers and sisters” and also brought up the matter at each global forum.
“Neighbours are not a matter of choice, it is something we have to live with. Unfortunately, our relations with India could not improve in the past,” Sharif said. “We want good relations with India, but peace can not be discussed without resolution of the Kashmir issue,” he said.
Earlier on Monday, Prime Minister-elect Shehbaz Sharif was administered the oath by the Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani after President Arif Alvi fell ill.
Shehbaz Sharif, President of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and former leader of the Opposition, was elected the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan by the National Assembly of the country earlier today.
Ahead of the voting, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) legislators resigned en masse from the National Assembly and walked out of the National Assembly after a speech by former Foreign Minister and PTI candidate for a prime ministerial post, Shah Mahmood Qureshi.
