ISLAMABAD : Fourteen years after he was deposed in a military coup and forced into exile, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif is set to become Prime Minister for an unprecedented third term at a time when Pakistan is grappling with massive challenges ranging from an economic meltdown to a Taliban insurgency.
Sharif, 63, will be formally elected as premier during a session of the new National Assembly.
Later in the day, Sharif will be sworn in by his political rival President Asif Ali Zardari of the Pakistan People’s Party.
The PML-N emerged the single largest party in the May 11 general election, decimating other political parties and setting up a record third term for Sharif, who entered politics in the 1980s as a protege of the late military dictator Zia-ul-Haq.
Sharif’s election as leader of the House is a foregone conclusion as the PML-N has more than 180 lawmakers in the 342-member National Assembly.
However, even Sharif’s harshest critics concede now that he is a changed man, possibly due to the years spent in self-exile in Saudi Arabia after he was forced to leave Pakistan in 2000 by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf.
Ironically, Musharraf is himself detained in his farmhouse over several high-profile cases at a time when Sharif is returning to the seat of power.
Sharif and his government will have to contend with a set of daunting challenges immediately after coming to power, including a crippling energy crisis that has caused power outages of up to 20 hours a day across the country, a Taliban insurgency that has killed thousands of people over the past six years and a stagnant economy.
The PML-N has said that Sharif will unveil a plan of action to address these challenges when he addresses the National Assembly after his election.
An economic team comprising Sharif’s close aides has been hard at work on a plan to address the energy crisis by clearing the debts of oil suppliers and refurbishing power plants and switching them over to coal from the more expensive furnace oil. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel