Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has stepped down as the president of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), stating that the “time has come” for his brother and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif to “resume his rightful place” as the party president.

The development was shared on Monday by Punjab’s senior minister and PML-N information secretary Marriyum Aurangzeb in a post on X, formerly Twitter. She shared Shehbaz’s resignation letter to the party’s secretary general dated May 11, 2024.

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In the letter, PM Shehbaz said the “tumultuous events” of 2017 had resulted in the “unjust disqualification” of Nawaz Sharif from the prime minister’s office.

The prime minister added that he was heartened by recent developments that “exonerated” his elder brother with “dignity”.

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“In light of these developments and the steadfast guidance of our beloved leader, I believe the time has come for Mohammad Nawaz Sharif to resume his rightful place as the President of Pakistan Muslim League (N) and provide his invaluable leadership and vision to steer the party forward.

“Therefore, it is with a deep sense of duty and reverence for our party’s principles that I tender my resignation as the President of Pakistan Muslim League (N),” Shehbaz wrote in the letter.

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It may be noted Nawaz Sharif was removed as the party president in 2018 after a Supreme Court bench headed by then-chief justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar ruled that an individual disqualified under Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution couldn’t serve as head of a political party.