MPs elect Shehbaz Sharif as Pakistan PM amid protests in chamber

2024-03-03 09:06:02

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Parliamentarians in Pakistan’s National Assembly on Sunday elected Shehbaz Sharif as the country’s new prime minister for the second time.

Allies of jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan shouted in protest at his appointment and claimed last month’s elections were rigged.

After several days of negotiations, Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League and its supporters reached an alliance following the Feb. 8 polls, the results of which were announced following an unusual delay due to a nationwide outage in cellphone services. Authorities said cutting communications was necessary to prevent attacks once morest candidates and security forces.

However, the delay sparked criticism from Khan’s party, which insists the vote was rigged to prevent him from achieving a majority. The party claims to have evidence that his victory was “stolen during the vote counting,” an allegation the Electoral Commission rejects.

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