Shehbaz Set To Become Pakistan PM After Deal For Coalition Struck

A political stalemate in Pakistan, after an inconclusive election, ended with Shehbaz Sharif chosen to lead the country again, while efforts were underway on Wednesday to get the second-largest party to join the government to ensure stability.

Sharif, 72, who was prime minister for 16 months until August, was late on Tuesday named by his party and coalition allies to head the nuclear-armed nation despite his elder brother and three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif winning a seat in the assembly and being favourite to be sworn in for a fourth term.

Nawaz Sharif's daughter Maryam said in a post on X that her father did not want to run a minority coalition government having had clear majorities in his three previous stints as premier. Their Pakistan Muslim LeagueNawaz (PML-N) party controls only 80 seats in the 264-seat parliament but has been promised support by six other parties for a majority.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the second largest, backed the choice but did not commit to joining the government, indicating it would support a minority government from the outside.

There is still a lot of negotiating to go, however, including a likely return to the presidency for his father, Asif Ali Zardari.