Shehbaz Sharif Sworn-in As New Pakistan PM, Mentions Kashmir in Inaugural Speech

"Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has secured 174 votes," announced PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq who chaired the session.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was elected to be Pakistan's Prime Minister unopposed on Monday, 11 April.

(Photo: Deeksha Malhotra/Altered by The Quint)

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif was on Monday, 11 April, sworn-in as Pakistan's 23rd Prime Minister.

Chairman of Pakistan Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, administered the oath to Shehbaz Sharif, after President Dr Arif Alvi excused himself on medical grounds.

"Mian Mohammad Shehbaz Sharif has secured 174 votes," announced PML-N leader Ayaz Sadiq, who was chairing the electoral session of the National Assembly.

Reacting to the news, PM Modi took to Twitter to say:

As the Pakistan National Assembly convened on Monday afternoon to elect a new prime minister, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) announced boycott of the prime minister's election and resignation from the National Assembly.

Sharif and PTI vice-chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who was among those who boycotted the session, had filed his nomination papers on Sunday, after being chosen as the PTI's prime ministerial candidate. Qureshi secured no vote on Monday.

'Peace Not Possible Without Kashmir Solution'

Addressing the Assembly, the newly elected Pakistan PM said that he wanted “good relations” with Pakistan's neighbour. However, he stressed on the unresolved Kashmir issue.

"We want good relations with India but a durable peace can’t be possible without Kashmir’s solution," Shehbaz stated.

The PM addressed the Assembly and claimed that God has 'saved Pakistan'.

"Today, the almighty has saved Pakistan and the 22 crore people of the country. This is the first time when the vote of no-confidence motion was successfully passed. The people of this country will celebrate this day," Sharif said.

Denouncing Khan's allegations of foreign interference, he declared that an in-camera discussion on the allegation will be undertaken. The military, along with DG ISI among others will also be among members of that meeting.

"If there is even a shred of truth to the foreign interference claims, I will resign as PM," Sharif said.

More About Sharif

Shehbaz Sharif, the younger brother of three-time former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, was seen leading the charge against Imran Khan in the past few weeks.

He was elected to the National Assembly in 1990. However, after the military coup of 1999, both Shehbaz and Nawaz had to spent several years in exile in Saudi Arabia. Like his elder brother, Shehbaz Sharif has also been accused of corruption.

Imran Khan Resigns From National Assembly

Earlier, former Prime Minister Imran Khan had resigned from the membership of the National Assembly after holding a meeting with his parliamentary party delegation. Khan said that he will not sit in the Assembly with 'thieves'.

"The man who has 16 billion rupees of corruption cases, whoever selects and elects him the prime minister... can not be a bigger insult to the country. We are resigning from the National Assembly," Imran Khan was quoted as saying by PTI's official Twitter account.

Meanwhile, massive protests were staged across major cities of Pakistan on the evening of Sunday, 10 April, against the ouster of Khan through a vote of no-confidence.

Visuals of the protests showed streets full of agitators. "Never have such crowds come out so spontaneously and in such numbers in our history, rejecting the imported govt led by crooks," Khan wrote on Twitter, sharing a video of the demonstrations.