ISLAMABAD: Shahbaz Sharif, Pakistan&#
8217;s prime minister-in-waiting and current chief minister of the Punjab, is considered the more intelligent younger brother of the three-time premier Nawaz.
Shahbaz Sharif was named as his brother&#
8217;s successor Saturday, becoming heir to the Sharif political dynasty — but first he will have to contest elections to win a National Assembly seat.
A tough administrator with a reputation for passionate outbursts and a fondness for hats, he was first elected as the chief minister in Punjab in 1997.
Two
years later General (r) Pervez Musharraf ousted his brother — then serving his second term as prime minister — in a military coup and both brothers went into exile in Saudi Arabia, not returning until 2007.
Shahbaz was again elected as chief minister of Punjab, the family&#
8217;s power base, in 2008 and has been in place since then, becoming the longest serving top official in t
he province.
He has presided over a series of big
ticket infrastructure projects, including Pakistan&#
8217;s first metro bus service.
He is known for using revolutionary poetry in speeches and public meetings and considered by some to be a workaholic.
Shahbaz Sharif will have to resign his provincial seat and contest a National Assembly seat before stepping into his brother&#
8217;s recently-vacated shoes as prime minister. Party loyalist Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, the former oil minister, is expected to act as placeholder until then.
Published in Daily Times, July 30th , 2017.
