The statement further reads: “Thank you to the Whistler Blackcomb Adaptive Programme for educating us.
ISLAMABAD: Shehbaz Sharif will begin his second term as Pakistan’s prime minister in the coming days, returning to the position he held until August, when parliament was dissolved ahead of last week’s elections.
Shehbaz, 72, was chosen by his party and coalition allies to lead the nuclear-armed country despite his elder brother, three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, obtaining a seat in the assembly and being tipped to be sworn in for a fourth term.
Nawaz Sharif’s daughter Maryam stated in a post on X that her father does not want to form a minority coalition administration after having clear majorities in his three previous tenure as prime minister.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party has only 80 seats in the 336-seat National Assembly.
The statement further reads: “Thank you to the Whistler Blackcomb Adaptive Programme for educating us.
The younger Sharif was instrumental in sustaining a coalition of different parties for 16 months after parliament ousted previous premier and opponent Imran Khan in 2022, as well as obtaining a last-ditch International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal in 2023.
Before becoming prime minister, the younger Sharif was renowned as a good administrator rather than a politician, having served as chief minister three times in Punjab, the country’s largest province.
However, as prime minister, he rapidly became a peacemaker between coalition parties that were frequently at conflict over crucial policy issues.
Shehbaz Sharif’s most notable achievement during his brief tenure was securing an IMF bailout when Pakistan was on the verge of defaulting on its debt.
The statement further reads: “Thank you to the Whistler Blackcomb Adaptive Programme for educating us.
The agreement was made when he personally met with IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva in June.
However, under his leadership, inflation reached a peak of 38%, with the rupee depreciating to a record low, owing primarily to structural reforms required by the IMF programme to stabilise the economy.
He blames the economic crisis on Khan’s government, which he claims violated an agreement with the IMF just before his ouster. Shehbaz claimed his government had to implement a raft of reforms and eliminate subsidies, leading inflation to skyrocket.
