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Who could be the next Pak PM? These are the contenders!

By Newsd
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Following Sharif's ouster, Pakistan will elect new Prime Minister on Tuesday
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After Nawaz Sharif quit office as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, speculations are on to as to who will be his successor.

“He is disqualified as a member of the parliament so he has ceased to be holding the office of Prime Minister,” Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan told the courtroom in Islamabad on Friday, after he was accused of corruption in the Panama Papers case.

The below mentioned names could be the next PM of the country.

Khawaja Asif

PTI had earlier reported that Defence minister, Khawaja Asif, will most likely become the interim prime minister for 45 days till Shehbaz Sharif (Nawaz’s brother and Punjab province chief minister) is elected in by-polls.

Sources said that this was decided in a high-level huddle of ruling Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N).

Asif has been a Senator between 1991 and 1993 and has briefly held the portfolio of federal minister for petroleum and natural resources.

Shahbaz Sharif

As Shahbaz is not a member of the National Assembly, he would have to contest elections if he gets chosen as Nawaz’s successor. Shahbaz has been the chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous province, Punjab, and has been holding this position since 1997 to 1999.  He became the opposition leader of Punjab Assembly in 1993.

Shahbaz is considered to be a powerful administrator.

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq

Sardar Ayaz Sadiq , Speaker of the National Assembly, is another strong candidate for Sharif’s successor. He is said to have the ear of the ruling Sharif family.

Sadiq gained Sharif’s trust after he defeated the PML-N leader’s main rival, cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, in tough race for a Lahore seat in the 2013 general election.

He began his political career as a supporter of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf party, but quit to contest the 2002 elections on a PML-N ticket.

Ahsan Iqbal

Lawmaker Ahsan Iqbal hails from a political family that has long been associated with Sharif’s PML-N party.

He is considered to be the development brains of the party and a visionary leader.

Currently, he heads the federal planning and development ministry, having previously served as minister for education and minorities.

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan

Stalwart of PML-N, interior minister, Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, is being considered as the prime candidate to succeed Sharif.

Unlike Sharif’s other key allies, Nisar has close ties with the powerful military, often serving as broker between the two — a relationship that would serve Nisar well if he decided to make an independent bid for the top office.

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