New prime minister chosen in Pakistan
Imran Khan’s allies in parliament protest, allege rigging.
ISLAMABAD — Lawmakers in Pakistan’s National Assembly elected Sunday Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister for the second time as allies of imprisoned former premier Imran Khan in parliament shouted in protest against his appointment, alleging rigging in last month’s election.
Speaker Ayaz Sadiq said Sharif secured 201 votes, defeating Omar Ayub of the Sunni Ittehad Council who got 92 votes. The winner only needs 169 votes to get a majority.
Ayub enjoyed the backing of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, or PTI, whose candidates could not get enough seats to form a government on their own. The PTI refused to hold talks with its rivals to form a coalition.
Following days of negotiations, Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League party and his supporters formed an alliance after the Feb. 8 election, which was overshadowed by militant violence, a nationwide mobile phone shutdown, Khan’s exclusion from the vote, and an unusual delay in announcing the result.
Authorities said the cutting of communications was necessary to avoid attacks on candidates and security forces.
However, the delay drew criticism from Khan’s party, which insists the vote was rigged to stop it from getting a majority. The party claims it has evidence that its victory “was stolen during the vote count,” a charge the Election Commission denies.
Sharif, in his acceptance speech in parliament Sunday, said: “We were subjected to political victimization in the past but never took any revenge.” Without naming Khan, he said the previous ruler jailed many political rivals, including himself and his ally Asif Ali Zardari.
He also accused Khan’s supporters of attacking military installations after his ouster in 2022, adding that now parliament and the courts will decide whether those involved in attacking the military installations deserved a pardon.