File photo taken on May 22, 2017 shows Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Pakistan's eastern Punjab Province, speaking at the second International Seminar on Business Opportunities in Punjab (ISBOP) in Lahore, Pakistan. Pakistan's ruling party PML-N decided Saturday to name Shahbaz Sharif as the country's new prime minister.(Xinhua)
ISLAMABAD, July 29 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's ruling party PML-N decided Saturday to name Shehbaz Sharif, chief minister of Punjab province, as the country's new prime minister.
The decision was announced by former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after a meeting of the PML-N's parliamentarians, which was held here.
The meeting also decided to name former Petroleum Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as the country's interim prime minister before the nomination of Shehbaz Sharif is approved by the National Assembly (NA), the lower house in Pakistan.
According to Pakistani laws, the prime minister must be a member of NA. Currently, Shehbaz Sharif is not a NA member and he must first contest for a seat in the NA before he can be voted by the parliament for the PM.
To fill up the power vacancy, the ruling party PML-N decided to pick Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as an interim prime minister, whose tenure, according to local media reports, is likely to last about 45 days before Shehbaz Sharif is officially made the country's new prime minister.
Local political analysts believe that Shehbaz Sharif is almost set to be the country's new prime minister as the ruling party PML-N enjoys majority seats in the NA in addition to the pledged support from some of its allies in the parliament to vote for Shehbaz Sharif.
Shehbaz Sharif is a senior politician in Pakistan. He has served as the chief minister of Punjab, the most developed province in Pakistan, for three times.
He is the younger brother of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who was disqualified by the country's apex court over corruption charges on Friday.
