PM Modi Congratulates Shehbaz Sharif On Taking Oath As Pakistan's Prime Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on taking oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the second time.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif for being elected as Pakistan's Prime Minister.

Source : PTI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on taking oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the second time as the country battles an economic and political crisis. Sharif was sworn into the post on Monday after months of turbulent political developments in the cash-strapped country. The election was marred by violence and allegations of rigging which also delayed the announcement of the result for days.

Congratulations to @CMShehbaz on being sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 5, 2024

Shehbaz Sharif took the oath as the 24th Prime Minister of Pakistan on Monday. He was sworn in by President Arif Alvi at the presidential office in Islamabad, a day after he was elected Prime Minister by the country's parliament amid protests from lawmakers who were supporters of jailed former PM Imran Khan.

Shebaz's oath-taking ceremony was attended by his elder brother and three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, former President Asif Ali Zardari, and the chief ministers of Punjab, Balochistan, and Sindh.

In the elections held on February 8, Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party finished second. Even though the independent candidates backed by Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won most of the seats, they failed to get a majority in the Parliament, resulting in Shebaz winning the prime minister elections with 201 votes in the 336-member Parliament.

In addition to PPP, Shehbaz was backed by other parties including the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Balochistan Awami Party, Istehkam-e-Pakistan Party, Pakistan Muslim League (Q), and the the National Party. 

Shehbaz Sharif served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023. Earlier in 2022, President Alvi had refused to administer oath to Shehbaz who was elected as prime minister after ousting Imran Khan through a vote of no confidence, stating that he was unwell. 

In his first speech as Pakistan's newly elected PM, Shehbaz spoke about the country's struggling economy and how it requires reforms to overcome the financial difficulties.