ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has been elected as the president of his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party unopposed to serve a four-year term, as confirmed by a statement issued by his political faction on Friday.
Established in 1993 by the prime minister’s elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, who was also elected to the country’s top political office three times, the PML-N is one of the main political forces in Pakistan and currently holds the maximum number of seats within the country’s coalition setup.
While it has won several elections in the past, PML-N was defeated in the last contest in 2018 by former premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party before suffering a downfall in a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April last year.
Shehbaz Sharif was previously nominated as the acting president of PML-N in 2018 by his brother who was barred from serving in that capacity due to a Supreme Court verdict against him in a corruption case.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has been elected unopposed as the president of Pakistan Muslim League-N for the next four years,” announced a party statement after the conclusion of its general council meeting in Islamabad on Friday.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (left) and Maryam Nawaz Sharif wave as they attend a general council meeting of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party in Islamabad, Pakistan, on June 16, 2023. (PML-N/Twitter)
Following his election as the president, the PM thanked his elder brother, colleagues and party workers for entrusting him with the responsibility.
“The PMLN under the leadership of [Nawaz Sharif] has evolved over time, emerging as the only federal party that has rid the country of multiple crises each time it was called upon to serve the motherland,” the prime minister wrote on Twitter.
“Thanks to the unbreakable bond between the leadership & party workers, the PMLN has demonstrated remarkable resilience & bounced back stronger each time it was written off,” he continued. “Today my resolve to serve the country has got even stronger. I want to be remembered as a dedicated worker of Mian Nawaz Sharif who did his best to serve the cause of Pakistan & her people.”
The PML-N statement also announced that Maryam Nawaz was elected as the chief organizer and senior vice president of the party, Ahsan Iqbal as the secretary-general, Marriyum Aurangzeb as the secretary of information, and Ishaq Dar as the finance secretary of the party for the next four years.
