Shehbaz sharif takes oath as PM of Pakistan for the second time

PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 4 March 2024. Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in by President Arif Alvi during a ceremony held at the President's House. The 12th general elections were held in Pakistan in February 2024.

S. Sharif took oath as PM for the second time:

• After the year 2022, Shehbaz Sharif has taken oath as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the second time.
• Shahbaz was previously the Prime Minister in the coalition government of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) from April 2022 to August 2023.
• The ceremony was attended by the chiefs of the three services, senior officers, diplomats, and other distinguished civil society members.
• Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar Ul Haq Kakar was also present on the occasion.
• The ceremony commenced with the recitation of the Holy Quran. After which Shehbaz Sharif was sworn in.
• Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz and other Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers were present at the oath taking ceremony.

The President declined to administer the oath:

• President Arif Alvi had refused to swear in Shehbaz Sharif in 2022. Then Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani administered him the oath of office.
• Shahbaz became Prime Minister for the first time after toppling Imran Khan's government through a no-confidence motion.
• Before becoming President, Arif Alvi was a senior leader of Imran Khan's PTI party.

PML-N could not garner a clear majority in 2024 general elections:

• The swearing-in ceremony is taking place days after Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) agreed on power sharing.
• On March 3, 2024, Shehbaz Sharif secured a majority in the newly elected Parliament amidst slogans raised by the opposition.
• PML-N and PPP candidate Shahbaz got 201 votes in the 336-member Parliament. While his rival Omar Ayub Khan of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) got 92 votes.
• PML-N could not muster a clear majority in the elections held on February 8, 2024 amid allegations of vote rigging. The PML-N party was successful in winning only 75 seats.

About Parliament of Pakistan:

• The Parliament of Pakistan also has two houses. The lower house is known as the National Assembly, while the upper house is referred to as the Senate.
• Both direct and indirect elections are held for the National Assembly.
• 10 seats are reserved in the National Assembly of Pakistan, which are for the minorities Hindus and Christians there.
• There are a total of 336 seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan. Elections on 266 seats are done directly through public votes. Whereas 70 seats of the National Assembly are reserved. Of these, 60 are for women. 10 The allotment of reserved seats for non-Muslims is in the same proportion as per the capacity of the winning parties in the National Assembly.
• Hindus and Christians are minorities in Pakistan. Hindus are about two percent and Christians are 01 percent. For this reason, Hindus have also been elected on these reserved seats.