Shehbaz Sharif was elected Pakistan’s new prime minister on Monday, marking the return to power and influence of the nation’s two main political dynasties after the dramatic weekend ousting of former cricketer Imran Khan.
Sharif is the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party and brother of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who was removed from office by the supreme court in 2017 because of undeclared wealth.
In a poetry-embroidered speech after his election, Sharif accused Khan’s government of being “corrupt, incompetent and laid-back”, but also struck some conciliatory notes. “If we want to move our country forward it has to be through dialogue, not deadlock,” he said.