Shehbaz files papers for Pak PM's post

Islamabad: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday nominated himself for the post of Prime Minister after the unceremonious ouster of Imran Khan, who has called on his supporters to join him on the street in protest against what he called the 'imported government.' The process of electing the new leader of the House began on Sunday after Khan was removed from office through a no-confidence vote, becoming the first premier in the country's history to be sent home after losing the trust of the House.

The joint Opposition - a rainbow of socialist, liberal and radically religious parties - has nominated 70-year-old Shehbaz for the premier's post, while ex-foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi was named by Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) as its candidate.

Khan's successor will be elected in the National Assembly on Monday and a special session has been summoned. In the House of 342, the winner would need 172 votes to become the new Prime Minister. Shehbaz is likely to be elected the new leader of the House.

However, it will be a real challenge for him to shepherd the motley herd that also includes four independent candidates and allow Parliament to complete its five-year term that will end in August next year. Before filing nomination, Shehbaz offered "special thanks" to those who stood up "for the Constitution!"

"I don't want to go back to the bitterness of the past. We want to forget them and move forward. We will not take revenge or do injustice; we will not send people to jail for no reason, law and justice will take its course," he said while addressing the National Assembly on Sunday.

Ex-President and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) co-chair Asif Ali Zaradri had proposed Shehbaz's name for Prime Minister in a joint Opposition's meeting. Zardari's son Bilawal Bhutto is likely to be appointed as the new Foreign Minister.