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Pakistan: Shahbaz Sharif replaces ousted Imran Khan as Prime Minister World news

Shahbaz Sharif is Pakistan’s new prime minister, replacing the ousted Imran Khan.

He was elected by 174 votes in favor after more than 100 Khan politicians left the National Assembly in protest.

Shahbaz, 70, is the younger brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and is leading opposition parties’ candidacy to remove Khan.

Mr Khan, the cricket star who has become a politician, became the first Pakistani prime minister to be ousted by a no-confidence vote in the early hours of Sunday.

Image: Imran Khan accused critics of plotting to overthrow the United States

He has been in office since 2018, but opponents have accused him of failing to revive the economy and tackle corruption.

Mr Hahn accused critics of plotting to overthrow the United States, but did not provide evidence and called on people to take to the streets in protest.

Thousands of his supporters demonstrated until the early hours of Monday in cities such as Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. They blocked roads and shouted slogans against rival parties and the US government.

Hundreds also gathered in front of Nawaz Sharif’s London home on Sunday.

Image: Khan’s supporters gathered in Karachi on Sunday

After losing the vote, Mr Khan tweeted on Sunday: “Pakistan became an independent state in 1947, but the struggle for freedom has resumed today against a foreign conspiracy to change the regime.

“The people of the country are always defending their sovereignty and democracy.”

Shahbaz Sharif presented his nomination for prime minister on Sunday, a move backed by other opposition parties.

But Mr Hahn’s party also nominated the former foreign minister, saying their members would resign en masse if he lost, potentially sparking by-elections.

Mr Hahn was on hold for almost a week after a united opposition to remove him saw a key coalition partner and party allies jump off the ship.

He managed to avoid an initial no-confidence vote by dissolving parliament and calling elections. However, the Supreme Court ruled that this was illegal.

Image: Mr Sharif pictured arrives at parliament in Islamabad, where he was later named prime minister

Shabaz Sharif will have a small majority of 174, enough to pass laws in the 342-seat assembly.

He has been three times the chief minister of Pakistan’s largest province, Punjab, where 60% of the country’s population lives.

His brother’s last term in office ended in 2017, when he was banned from office following financial details in the Panama Papers.

He went abroad for treatment after serving just a few months of a 10-year sentence for corruption, while Shabaz became the leader of the PML-N party.