ISLAMABAD, Feb. 28, 2018
Pakistan’s ruling party the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) appointed Shahbaz Sharif as its interim chief on Tuesday to fill the post left vacant after the top court disqualified former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to lead the party last week.
According to a statement issued from the party’s Twitter account, Nawaz Sharif proposed to name his younger brother Shahbaz Sharif for the post of interim president, which was approved unanimously during a meeting of the party’s central working committee in Lahore.
The party will also hold another meeting on March 6 for intraparty elections to elect Shahbaz Sharif as the permanent president.
Shahbaz Sharif, 66, is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab Province.
The party’s meeting also approved the appointment of Nawaz Sharif as its leader for life. However, he will not have any specific position in the party.
Last week, the supreme court gave the decision while hearing petitions against the Elections Act 2017 passed by the parliament, which paved the way for Nawaz to resume his position as party chief following his disqualification from the public office in a corruption case last year.
The court said a person who is disqualified under the Constitution is not eligible to keep any position in a political party.
