Nasima Khatun
Shahbaz Sharif becomes Pakistan’s new Prime Minister after Imran Khan was ousted from the position over the weekend.
The leader of the opposition, who headed the petition for Khan’s removal, won the majority of the vote and has now become the new leader. Sharif has been a long-term rival of Khan’s, and his new position means that he will hold power until October next year when the country’s next elections take place.
The sudden power change comes as a result of the no-confidence vote which saw Khan subsequently removed from power serving 3 years in the position.
Taking to Twitter just hours after the result, the 69-year-old said: “Pakistan became an independent state in 1947; but the freedom struggle begins again today against a foreign conspiracy of regime change. It is always the people of the country who defend their sovereignty & democracy.”
Massive protests have erupted all around the county in the wake of the Supreme Court’s removal of Khan. These protests, however, have not been limited to just Pakistan. Over here in the United Kingdom, the capital city of London saw a large-scale protest in which hundreds of supporters gathered to slam the sudden swap as “unjust.”
The protest, which took place in Hyde Park right outside the home of former PM, Nawaz Sharif, saw fans calling for Imran Khan to be re-instated and vowed not to support any new “imported” government which has now been put into place.
Only time will tell how this new PM will affect Pakistan.