Shehbaz Sharif elected as the new prime minister of Pakistan

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif was on Monday elected as the new prime minister of Pakistan. Sharif will succeed Imran Khan, who was ousted through a no-confidence motion.

Shehbaz, the younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, received 174 votes -- two more than the simple majority of 172. He has served as chief minister of the country's most populous and politically crucial Punjab province thrice.
 
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice-chairman and former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was also in the race to become the new premier of the country.
 
However, minutes after the National Assembly's crucial session began to elect Khan's successor, Qureshi announced that his party will boycott the voting to elect new premier. This left Sharif as the sole candidate for the prime minister's job.
 
Following this, the members of PTI walked out of the National Assembly.
 
Just before the start of the session, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said all PTI lawmakers will resign from the National Assembly and not become part of any government which was being formed under a "foreign agenda", a reference to the allegation made by Khan that the US was involved in a conspiracy to topple his government.
 
Earlier, after a lot of drama on Saturday, Khan lost the trust vote in the National Assembly past midnight. The joint Opposition, a rainbow of socialist, liberal and radically religious parties, had secured the support of 174 members in the 342-member National Assembly, more than the needed strength of 172 to oust the prime minister.

Also Read: Meet Shehbaz Sharif, the man set to become next Pakistani PM after Imran Khan's ouster