Shehbaz Sharif, Pakistan Opposition Leader, Elected New PM

Shehbaz Sharif has been elected unopposed as the next Prime Minister of Pakistan, succeeding Imran Khan, who was removed by a no-trust vote on Saturday. Ahead of the election of the new Prime Minister, Imran Khan resigned as a member of the National Assembly, saying he will not sit in the assemblies with ‘thieves’.

“A man who has one corruption case of 16 billion rupees and another corruption case of 8 billion rupees against him…for that person to be selected and elected as the Prime Minister, there cannot 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.

Shehbaz Sharif and his son Hamza Shehbaz have been named in a high-profile money laundering case. Earlier today, a Pakistani court deferred their indictment until April 27 and extended their pre-arrest bail, allowing the PML-N president to become the new Prime Minister.

The no-trust vote against the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government was held in the National Assembly late on Saturday night. The Opposition had mustered 174 votes to oust Imran Khan.

The process of electing the new leader of the house began on Sunday. (Agencies)