Nawaz says Shehbaz 'best choice' for premiership in current circumstances

PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif said Wednesday that his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif is the “best choice” for prime minister given Pakistan’s current circumstances.

The former premier spoke at the party’s parliamentary session in Islamabad, recalling the successes the PML-N achieved during its previous tenures and the oppression it has faced.

He praised Shehbaz’s leadership as prime minister during the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s rule.

“The way he prevented the nation from going into default is unprecedented,” Nawaz remarked.

He added that he hoped Pakistan would overcome its current problems within the next year or two.

“We need to tend to Pakistan’s wounds as it is currently severely injured,” Nawaz stated.

The former premier went on to say that the incoming government must get the nation out of economic problems.

“I think that in the next two years, we will have to make some painful decisions,” Nawaz stressed.

These remarks come as Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf has summoned a session of the newly-elected National Assembly tomorrow (Thursday).

Informed sources told Business Recorder that Speaker of National Assembly Raja Pervez Ashraf chaired a consultative meeting on Monday after President Alvi rejected the summary and returned it with reservations about the incomplete process of allocation of the reserved seats.

In a related development, the party of Pakistan’s jailed former prime minister, Imran Khan, asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to factor in the country’s “political instability” in any further bailout talks, two people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, reported Reuters.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has sent the letter to the IMF detailing its position, two senior sources in the party reportedly said, adding more details would be made public in due course.