Meet Shehbaaz Sharif, the politician ahead in race to replace Pakistan PM Imran Khan

The political instability in Pakistan paves the way for cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan to be thrown out of power and a new face be sworn-in as the next Prime Minister of the country. The news doing the rounds reveal that the Leader of the Opposition, Shehbaz Sharif will soon become the next Prime Minister of the country. 

Addressing a press conference ahead of the confidence vote which is expected to take place soon, Bilawal Bhutto thanked Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) for joining hands with the opposition and deciding to support them to oust Imran Khan as Prime Minister in the no-confidence vote.

Bilawal Bhutto also stated that Shehbaz Sharif, brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif will soon become the next Prime Minister of the country. "PPP and MQM-P's working relation has nothing to do with the no-confidence motion. Both the parties have to work together for the development of Karachi and Pakistan," PPP chairman said. 

Shehbaz Sharif had earlier challenged Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign from office.

Read | Shahbaz Sharif alleges that tons of meat burnt in Imran Khan's house

Who is Shehbaz Sharif?

Shehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif, who served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms.

A businessman by profession, he began his political career after getting elected to the Provincial Assembly of Punjab in the 1988 general election.

In 1990, he was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan. However, his term in the Assembly ended prematurely when it was dissolved in 1993.

The younger of the Sharif brothers, Shehbaz Sharif has been the leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.

Shehbaz Sharif is the president of the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and has previously served as the Chief Minister of Punjab thrice.

He has been the longest-serving CM of Punjab - February 20, 1997-October 12, 1999; June 8, 2008-March 26, 2013; June 8, 2013-June 8, 2018.

He was elected to the Punjab provincial assembly in 1988 and National Assembly in 1990. He was again elected to the Punjab assembly in 1993.

Shehbaz Sharif was named leader of the Opposition in August 2018. He was elected as Chief Minister of Punjab province for the first time in 1997.

After a military coup deposed the government in 1999, Shehbaz along with his family spent years of self-exile in Saudi Arabia and returned to Pakistan in 2007.

Shehbaz Sharif was appointed the Chief Minister of Punjab for a second term after the PML-N's victory in the province in the 2008 general elections.

Shehbaz was elected as the Chief Minister of Punjab for the third time in 2013 and served his term until his party's defeat in the 2018 general elections.

He was nominated as the PML-N (Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz) President after his brother Nawaz Sharif was disqualified from holding office.

He was nominated as the leader of the Opposition after the 2018 elections. On March 28, Shahbaz tabled the no-confidence resolution against Khan.

Corruption charges against Shehbaz Sharif

In 2003, Shehbaz Sharif was charged with ordering the police in 1998 to kill five religious students suspected to be involved in terrorist acts.

Sharif brothers returned to Pakistan in 2007, but Shehbaz was barred from running in elections a year later as the murder charges lingered. 

Shehbaz Sharif refuted the allegations and said they were politically motivated. He was acquitted of these murder charges in 2008.

In December 2019, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) seized 23 of his properties, accusing him and his son, Hamza of money laundering.

In September 2020, NAB arrested him at the Lahore High Court and indicted him on charges of money laundering and incarcerated pending trial.

He was arrested on charges that he had accumulated assets worth Rs 7,328 million in connivance with his co-accused family members.

In April 2021, the Lahore High Court released Shehbaz Sharif on bail in the money-laundering case.