Islamabad, Pakistan

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Pakistan's parliament chose Shehbaz Sharif as Prime Minister of the country on Monday (April 11) after a political crisis in the South Asian nation resulted in the ouster of his predecessor Imran Khan. 

In his inaugural speech, new PM Shehbaz Sharif raised a range of issues, here are the key points. 

On the "threat letter"

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Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan quite a few times mentioned the involvement of a "foreign conspiracy" to oust him from power. 

Addressing the same, Shehbaz said the letter came on March 7, but decisions to bring a no-trust motion were made way before that. He said, "So, if (what the previous government claimed) is a lie, then the matter should be disclosed transparently before the public." 

Shehbaz Sharif further said that the parliament's security committee would be given a briefing on the "threat letter" to the members of the committee in presence of the armed forces personnel and bureaucrats, the Inter-Services Intelligence chief, foreign secretary, and the ambassador who wrote it. 

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"If there's an iota of evidence that we were backed by foreign conspirators ... Then with you Mr speaker and God as my witness, I will not think for another second and resign from the office of the prime minister," Shehbaz said. 

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On Pakistan-China ties

During his address, Shehbaz also lauded China for its support to Pakistan on the world stage and said the friendship between the two countries will remain intact.

He said, "There should be no doubt that China and Pakistan are time tested friends and nobody can separate us, it will last till the judgement day. I assure that CPEC will go onwards at Pakistan's speed. Thankful to President Xi Jinping." 

On Pakistan-US ties

During his address, Shehbaz Sharif weighed in on Pakistan and US relations. He said, "Pakistan has historic relations with the US. There were hiccups. Some confusion some ups and downs." 

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On Pakistan-India ties and Kashmir issue

PM Shehbaz Sharif also said that he wants good relations with India, but it can't be achieved without the resolution of the Kashmir issue. 

He raised the issue of abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir and claimed that people in Pakistan will provide them with "diplomatic and moral support" besides raising the matter at every international forum. 

Shehbaz also asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward to address the Kashmir issue so that the two countries could concentrate on tackling poverty, unemployment, shortage of medicines and other issues on the two sides of the border.