Newly elected PM Shehbaz to take oath of office today

Islamabad: The newly elected Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif will be taking the oath of office today (Monday), the President of the State Dr. Arif Alvi will take the oath of office from him.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at 3:00pm in the President's House. Preparations for the swearing-in ceremony of the newly elected Prime Minister have been completed, while the invitations to participate in the ceremony have also been issued.

It is pertinent to note that during the special session of the National Assembly yesterday, Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the Prime Minister.

Shehbaz Sharif secured 201 votes of member of the National Assembly while his opponent Umar Ayub, candidate of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-backed Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC), secured 92 votes.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif was supported by seven parties including Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Mutahidda Qoumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q), Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party (IPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Zia (PML-Z).

Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman's party Jamat-e-Ulema Islami-Fazl (JUI-F) did not vote for anyone in the election of the Prime Minister and all the members walked out of the House on the occasion of the election. While, Mahmood Khan Achakzai voted for Umar Ayub and Sardar Akhtar Mengal remained seated in the House and did not cast his vote.

During the prime ministerial election process, members of the PTI-backed, SIC surrounded the speaker's dais and chanted slogans while PML-N members retaliated by waving watches and chanting slogans.

After the counting of votes was completed during the meeting, the Speaker National Assembly announced the victory of Shehbaz Sharif.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in his first address in the Assembly, invited the opposition to a pact of understanding with the economy.

Addressing the National Assembly in spite of the opposition's intense uproar and sloganeering, he said that consciousness should have reigned in the House instead of noise. The proceedings of the house in which they are sitting and making noise are also being run by taking loans.

The newly elected Prime Minister stated that the country with nuclear power owes 80 thousand billion rupees. If revolutionary changes and fundamental reforms are to be made in the system, decisions must be made together.

Referring to PTI founder Imran Khan’s letter to International Monetary Fund (IMF), he added that there are constitutional and legal forums for fraud complaints, what was the need to write a letter to the IMF. People don't need any more election results, they just want results.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also announced to take forward China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and not to be a part of any great game in foreign policy.

He continued to say that the historic relations with the United States should be fixed and developed, while relations with the neighboring countries will also be maintained on the basis of equality.