Nawaz to Shehbaz to Nawaz again: PML-N takes a step back to move forward

Pakistan's three-time former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been re-elected as the President of the South Asian country's ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party unopposed on Tuesday (May 28). The development comes six years after Sharif lost the post after a Supreme Court ruling the Panama Papers case.

The PML-N General Council meeting took place on Tuesday (May 28) inwhich the senior Sharif tookover the presiding role of his party that has remained at the centre of the politics of the country for most of the twenty-first century.

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Nawaz Sharif as PML(N) chief: What is expected?

The 74-year-old, who returned to Pakistan in October 2023 right before the country's February 2024 elections in which the PML(N) returned to power, was elected unopposed at the party's helm.

According to reports in the Pakistani media, as many as 11 party members hadreceived nominations for the top post.

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The PML-N had earlier announced that its general council meeting was convening on May 11 but it was postponed to coincide with the purported celebrations to mark 26 years of Pakistan becoming a nuclear state.

PML-N Punjab President Rana Sanaullah while addressing a press conference said that if any party member wanted to contest against Sharif, they should come forward.

What does it mean?

Pakistan's February 2024 elections, in which PML(N) retained power in the polls that were denounced by jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

As Nawaz Sharif returned from his self-imposed exile, it was expected that he would succeed his brother Shehbaz Sharif as crisis-ridden country's premier. But Shehbaz remained PM.

Nawaz Sharif's re-elevation as PML(N) chief means that formally too he is back in the centre of Pakistan's political state of affairs.

(With inputs from agencies)