On the 3rd of March 2024, Pakistan witnessed yet another seamless transition of power as Mian Shehbaz Sharif was re-elected for his second term as Prime Minister. Garnering a decisive 201 votes, Prime Minister Sharif’s victory reaffirms the nation’s commitment to democratic principles amidst a competitive political landscape. His opponent, Omar Ayub of the Sunni Ittehad Council backed by the PTI, received 92 votes, highlighting the clear mandate bestowed upon Prime Minister Sharif by the mainstream political parties of Pakistan.
Born in Lahore in 1950, Shehbaz Sharif is the younger brother of Mian Nawaz Sharif, who served as prime minister of Pakistan for three terms. He attended St Anthony’s High School, Lahore, and later graduated from the prestigious Government College, Lahore. Shehbaz Sharif, president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), has served three terms as chief minister of Punjab. Initially, he held the post from 1997 to 1999 until former military dictator Pervez Musharraf imposed martial law, leading to the Sharif brothers’ exile to Saudi Arabia. He resumed office from 2008 to 2013 and then again from 2013 to 2018.
The need for someone like Shehbaz Sharif at the helm to navigate the country through these challenging times has never been more crucial.
Additionally, with a background in business, Shehbaz Sharif was elected president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industries in 1985. Renowned for his tireless work ethic, Shehbaz Sharif referred to himself as Khadim-e-Aala, i.e. chief servant, rather than chief minister in his last two terms in this office.
During the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government’s tenure from 2018 to 2022, Shehbaz Sharif served as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. When the PTI government failed to perform and created severe challenges through its incompetence, leading to economic turmoil and political instability, the country teetered on the edge of default. In this scenario, political parties associated with the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) moved a vote of no confidence in parliament, leading to the end of the PTI rule and its bad governance. Shehbaz Sharif emerged as PDM’s consensus candidate for the position of prime minister and subsequently assumed office for the first time from April 2022 to August 2023.
Shehbaz Sharif is renowned in Pakistani politics for his experience and political wisdom, earning him the moniker of “doer” due to his unmatched leadership abilities and dedication. As a three-time chief minister, he strengthened provincial governance and addressed areas of development long neglected by previous regimes in Punjab.
During his two consecutive terms in office, Shehbaz Sharif undertook “the most frenetic education reforms in the world,” according to The Economist, to increase school enrolment and provide quality education at public schools in Punjab. His other notable contributions were the establishment of the Daanish Schools, the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund, and the implementation of the Chief Minister’s Laptop Scheme.
In his tenure, the health department was restructured into primary, secondary, and specialised health, and the Punjab Healthcare Commission was established to regulate hospitals, clinics, labs etc, and to develop and enforce minimum service delivery standards. His government also developed the Punjab Kidney and Liver Transplant Institute (PKLI), the country’s premier state-of-the-art hospital providing free treatment and comprehensive facilities. His all-out efforts in combating the dengue fever outbreak set high standards in public service. Additionally, his vigorous campaign against quackery saved countless lives, while his innovative province-wide public-private partnerships to combat hepatitis cured millions.
Shehbaz Sharif is a pioneer of the mass transit system in Pakistan. He introduced transformative projects such as the Lahore Metrobus, Rawalpindi-Islamabad Metrobus, Multan Metrobus, and Orange Line Train in Lahore. His initiatives have revolutionised public transportation, providing millions of people with efficient daily commute facilities.
Shehbaz Sharif is renowned in Pakistani politics for his experience and political wisdom, earning him the moniker of “doer” due to his unmatched leadership abilities and dedication.
For a country grappling with a severe energy crisis at the time, the election of the PML-N with a significant mandate in 2013 marked a turning point in the power sector of the country. The party’s government doubled Pakistan’s power generation capacity in just five years. As chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif initiated numerous mega projects in Punjab, notable among which were the Nandipur Power Project and the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park.
At the same time, his government took measures to improve governance and ensure transparency in the delivery of public services. Digitisation of land records in Punjab was a revolutionary step that transformed manual land records management into an efficient, accountable, secure, and transparent system through integrated technology solutions.
During his time as chief minister, Shehbaz Sharif initiated one of the largest road infrastructural projects named the Khadam-e-Punjab Daihi Road Programme in 2015 at the cost of Rs15 billion. The project connected villages with urban arteries, which improved communication and gave direct market access to smaller areas of the province.
Under Shehbaz Sharif’s government, considerable work was done on agricultural research. Over the years, Punjab experimented with olive cultivation in arid areas, an initiative that has now bloomed into lush green olive grooves on thousands of acres of land. Olive cultivation offers immense opportunities to local farmers, labourers and businessmen. It can potentially reduce Pakistan’s dependence on imported olive oil and save precious foreign exchange.
On the social side, Shehbaz Sharif initiated extensive gender reforms in the province. His government established and empowered a provincial commission on the status of women and was instrumental in passing the Punjab Protection of Women against Violence Act, 2016, which provides the legal basis for establishing an effective system of protection, relief, and rehabilitation of women against violence. Likewise, the Punjab Assembly passed a historic law, the Punjab Sikh Anand Karaj Marriages Act 2018, to regulate Sikh marriages in the province.
This, by any means, is not an exhaustive list of Shehbaz Sharif’s achievements in Punjab.
In his first term as prime minister, the country was on the verge of economic default, a situation marred by political uncertainty. Shehbaz Sharif got down to work immediately and skilfully united members of diverse political parties into a cohesive team, addressing numerous domestic and foreign challenges.
Bad governance and flawed policies of the outgoing PTI government created a severe economic crisis, which ultimately pushed the country to the brink of default. Shehbaz Sharif spared no effort to save the country from this lurking danger and secured a $3 billion standby agreement from the IMF in June 2023 for nine months.
Another big challenge that Shehbaz Sharif faced as prime minister was the devastating floods in the monsoon season of 2022 that affected almost 33 million Pakistanis, killing 1,730 people and demolishing over two million houses, 23,900 schools, and 1,460 healthcare facilities throughout the country. The economic loss caused by the floods was estimated by UNDP to be over $30 billion. Quoting Pakistan’s floods as an example, the prime minister and his team demonstrated at various international forums how climate change is impacting countries most vulnerable to climate-related disasters. Through Pakistan’s concerted diplomatic efforts together with other nations in G-77, the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) agreed to establish a loss and damage fund that will help low-income developing countries offset the damage from natural disasters caused by climate change. This was a landmark achievement for all the developing countries that will also benefit Pakistan when the fund becomes operational.
Shehbaz Sharif steps into the role of prime minister for the second term amidst some of Pakistan’s most challenging circumstances on economic, security, and political fronts. As the new prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif faces the daunting task of navigating this intricate web of challenges while promoting national cohesion.
After he was elected prime minister for the second time, Shehbaz Sharif thanked all political parties who voted for him. He paid homage to the exemplary services of his elder brother and PML-N founder Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, noting his achievements, including his significant contributions to making Pakistan a nuclear state, ensuring its security and resilience, undertaking the building of major infrastructure projects like motorways, tackling terrorism, and overcoming the worst power crisis the country faced at the time. Shehbaz Sharif called upon all political parties to unite in addressing the pressing issues confronting the nation.
His government has already formulated a five-year economic plan aimed at addressing the multifaceted economic challenges, including restructuring the Federal Board of Revenue to broaden the tax base, privatising loss-making state-owned enterprises, attracting foreign investment, strengthening diplomatic relations with developed nations, and effectively managing IMF negotiations to mitigate inflationary pressures.
The need for someone like Shehbaz Sharif at the helm to navigate the country through these challenging times has never been more crucial.
