Pakistan’s Prime Minister-elect Shehbaz Sharif to take oath of office on March 4

Shehbaz Sharif will take the oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan on Monday, taking over the reins of the country for a second time since 2022, amidst staggering economic and security challenges faced by the country.

President Arif Alvi will administer the oath to Shehbaz Sharif in a ceremony held at the President’s residence in the afternoon.

The oath-taking ceremony comes days after the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and the Pakistan Peoples Party agreed on a power-sharing deal to form a coalition government.

Shehbaz, 72, earlier served as prime minister of a coalition government from April 2022 to August 2023 before Parliament was dissolved to hold general elections last month.

Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir, caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar, chief ministers and governors of all four provinces are expected to attend the oath-taking ceremony.

On Sunday, Shehbaz comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament amidst sloganeering by the Opposition.

Shehbaz, the consensus candidate of the PML-N and the PPP, received 201 votes in the 336-member Parliament. His challenger Omar Ayub Khan of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) secured 92 votes.