Pakistan Parliament set to elect new PM today; Shehbaz Sharif, Shah Mahmood in the fray

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Pakistan National Assembly will elect the country’s new Prime Minister today.
• Imran Khan stands ousted after losing the no-trust vote against him.
• Pakistan joint opposition candidate Shehbaz Sharif and PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi are in the fray.

Here’s all you need to know:

1. Pakistan joint opposition candidate Shehbaz Sharif and PTI’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi are in the race for tomorrow’s PM elections. Both of their nomination papers have been approved.
2. Shah Mahmood Qureshi is the former foreign minister of Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif is Nawaz Sharif’s brother and his name was doing rounds as the next PM of Pakistan, even before Imran Khan’s ouster.
3. Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is likely to be the next foreign minister of Pakistan.
4. The National Assembly session to elect the new premier will now be held at 2.00 pm on Monday (tomorrow), contrary to a previous schedule of 11.00 am.
5. Security measures ahead of the Prime Minister’s election are set in place. Strict security is in place around the D-chowk. Furthermore, roads leading to Parliament will be opened after the election of the new premier.
6. The voting on the no-confidence motion against the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government began in the country’s National Assembly late on Saturday night where 174 members recorded their votes in favour of the resolution that ousted the Imran Khan.
7. Meanwhile, Former Pakistan minister for information and broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry announced on Sunday that his party members would resign from the National Assembly on Monday if the nomination of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shahbaz Sharif is accepted.
8. As his first response after his ouster, Imran Khan took to Twitter today and continued with the “external conspiracy” allegations, saying today is the beginning of a renewed struggle for independence.
9. The confrontation between supporters of Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz turned into an arena of slurs and slogans against each party’s leadership outside Avenfield flats in London, the residence of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
10. Imran Khan chaired the first parliamentary board meeting of his party after the Pakistani parliament ousted him in a vote of no confidence