Premiership Of Shehbaz Sharif
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The premiership of
Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...
began on 11 April, 2022 after he was nominated as a candidate for
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
of
Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
by opposition parties following a
vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...
in then-Prime Minister
Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
during the
2022 Pakistani constitutional crisis A political crisis, political and constitutional crisis 2020–2022 Pakistani political crises, emerged in Pakistan from, 3 April 2022 to 10 April 2022 when, National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly's Deputy Speaker of the National Assem ...
. He was sworn in as prime minister by Senate Chairman
Sadiq Sanjrani Mir Muhammad Sadiq Khan Sanjrani (born 14 April 1970) is a Pakistani politician who was formerly the chairman of the Senate of Pakistan. He took his oath of office as a member and chairman of the Senate of Pakistan on 12 March 2018 and served un ...
while acting as
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
on behalf of
Arif Alvi Arif-ur-Rehman Alvi () is a Pakistani politician who served as the 13th President of Pakistan, in office from 2018 to 2024. He was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from August to September 2018. ...
. Sharif remained in office until 14 August 2023, when he stepped down for a caretaker government to participate in the
2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...
. After a heavily contested election, Sharif was re-elected as prime minister on 4 March 2024, defeating the PTI-backed
Omar Ayub Khan Omar Ayub Khan (; born 26 January 1970) is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as the Leader of the Opposition. He was the last Federal Minister for Economic Affairs under the Prime Ministership of Imran Khan from April 2021 unti ...
. The Shehbaz Sharif government has been described as an "
Authoritarian Regime Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
" by ''
The Economist Democracy Index The ''Democracy Index'' published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. T ...
''.


Accession

After the 2022 Pakistan economic crisis led to political instability, the struggle was also joined by several dissident members of Khan's own party,
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...
(PTI). On 10 April 2022, the coalition succeeded in ousting Khan through a no-confidence motion, after which the
Pakistan Democratic Movement The Pakistan Democratic Movement (; PDM) was a coalition of List of political parties in Pakistan, political parties in Pakistan. It was founded in September 2020 as a political movement, opposition movement against Imran Khan, accusing his I ...
formed its own government, choosing the opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif as the country's prime minister.


First term (2022–2023)


Economic policy

The new government was faced with multiple economic challenges upon formation, mainly relating to the completion of the $6 billion IMF bailout program approved during Imran Khan's tenure. The government decided not to remove fuel and power subsidies imposed by Imran Khan during the last days of his tenure, viewing such a move as politically damaging to the new government. This was opposed by the Finance Ministry on the grounds that it could jeopardize the IMF program and increase the fiscal deficit.


PM's Kissan Package

Following wide-spread flooding and farmer protests lead by the Pakistan Kissan Ittehad in 2022, Shehbaz Sharif announced a Rs. 1.8 trillion Kisan Package. The package included the following measures; * Rs. 5 billion for flood-hit farmer loans * Produce Index Unit (PIU) value increased to Rs. 10,000 for agro-loans * Rs. 10 billion for agricultural small and medium enterprises (SMEs) *
GoP The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the tw ...
import program of 5-year-old, second-hand tractors ** 50% rebate on duty for importing 5-year-old, second-hand tractors ** 36% rebate on duty for importing 3-year-old tractors ** Duty on completely knocked down (CKD) parts reduced from 35% to 15% * Subsidy on Di-ammonium phosphate (DAP), Rs. 11,250 per bag * Distribution of 1.2 million bags of wheat seeds (Rs13.20 billion for program) *
GoP The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the tw ...
import program of 500,000 tons of
urea Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest am ...
** Rs. 30 billion subsidy program on urea *
GoP The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party (GOP), is a right-wing political party in the United States. One of the two major parties, it emerged as the main rival of the then-dominant Democratic Party in the 1850s, and the tw ...
import program of 1.6 million tons of wheat *
DISCO Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
and
K-Electric K-Electric Limited (KE), formerly known as Karachi Electric Supply Company Limited or Karachi Electric Supply Corporation Limited, is a Pakistani utility company based in Karachi. Privatised in 2005, KE is the only vertically integrated utili ...
private agro-consumers provided Rs3.60/kWh decrease *
Tubewell A tube well is a type of water well in which a long, -wide, stainless steel tube or pipe is bored underground. The lower end is fitted with a strainer, and a pump lifts water for irrigation. The required depth of the well depends on the depth o ...
electricity tarify/utility rate decreased by Rs3.60/kWh The
State Bank of Pakistan The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is the central bank of Pakistan. Its Constitution, as originally laid down in the State Bank of Pakistan Order 1948, remained basically unchanged until 1 January 1974, when the bank was nationalised and the scope ...
has financed the following measures of the "PM’s Kissan Package;" * Markup Waiver Scheme (MWS):
subsistence farmers Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow crops on smallholdings to meet the needs of themselves and their families. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements. Planting decisions occu ...
with "outstanding" debts of up to Rs 500,000 per loan had their mark-up's waived. Under the MWS banks waived Rs 2.96 billion. * GoP Markup Subsidy Scheme (GMSS): Rs. 10.05 billion outlaid to 43,465 borrowers with debts of Rs. 500,000 * Interest Free Loans and Risk Sharing Scheme for Landless Farmers (IF&RSLF): Upton Rs. 200,000 in interest free loans, Rs. 5.8 billion outlaid to 47,425 borrowers. * Markup Subsidy and Risk Sharing Scheme for Farm Mechanization (MSRSSFM): Loans up to Rs. 30 million for purchase of "tractors, threshers, combined harvesters, planters etc." The scheme was extended by Govt to June 30, 2024. * PM’s Youth Business and Agriculture Loan Scheme (PMYB&ALS): Loan Scheme, Rs 26.8 billion disbursed by March 31, 2024 Despite a subsidy on DAP and Urea fertilizers, an inter-ministerial meeting of the Kissan Package found that their use had declined due to continued increases in prices and decreases in supply.


Foreign policy

The government immediately sought to mend ties with the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
that were strained by Imran Khan's Lettergate controversy, despite Washington's increasing prioritization of India over Pakistan in its foreign policy. Experts believed the goal of this was to balance relations between the US and
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, while also prioritising CPEC-related cooperation with China. However, Pakistan has only received a limited response from the Biden administration, the United States and India have also demanded that Pakistan stop cross-border terrorist activities.


Political crisis

2022–2023 Pakistan political unrest The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...
continues, and clashes intensify after
arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be question ...
of former PM Imran Khan. Following the unrest, the Pakistani government supported the transfer of protesters to
court-martial A court-martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the arme ...
. The
Economist Intelligence Unit The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of the Economist Group, providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts ...
(EIU) downgraded Pakistan from a '
hybrid regime A hybrid regime is a type of political system often created as a result of an incomplete democratic transition from an authoritarian regime to a Democracy, democratic one (or vice versa). Hybrid regimes are categorized as having a combination of ...
' to an '
authoritarian regime Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
', in its
Democracy Index The ''Democracy Index'' published by the Economist Group is an index measuring the quality of democracy across the world. This quantitative and comparative assessment is centrally concerned with democratic rights and democratic institutions. ...
2023.


Second term (2024–present)

His second tenure saw Pakistan host the 2024 SCO summit, where Shehbaz held talks on regional development and cooperation with
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
and other SCO members. He also attempted to ban the
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...
(PTI), the largest political party in Pakistan. His government saw the initiation of
Operation Azm-e-Istehkam Operation Azm-e-Istehkam () is a counter-insurgency operation launched by the government of Pakistan in June 2024. The operation was approved by prime minister Shehbaz Sharif. The operation will include not only military action, but also soci ...
and attempted to pass new
constitutional amendments A constitutional amendment (or constitutional alteration) is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly alt ...
making changes to the
Judiciary of Pakistan The judiciary of Pakistan is the national system of courts that maintains the law and order in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan uses a '' common law system'', which was introduced during the colonial era, influenced by local medieval ...
, though opposition groups alleged that their members were abducted and 'coercive tactics' were used by his government to attempt to pass the amendments. In Febua Protests have continued to proliferate in Pakistan, as economic conditions and political pressures continue. IMF conditions led to increases in
tax rates A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax c ...
, while
purchasing power Purchasing power refers to the amount of products and services available for purchase with a certain currency unit. For example, if you took one unit of cash to a store in the 1950s, you could buy more products than you could now, showing that th ...
declined in tandem with stagnant
wage growth Wage growth (or real wage growth) is a rise of wage adjusted for inflations, often expressed in percentage. In macroeconomics, wage growth is one of the main indications to measure economic growth for a long-term since it reflects the consumer's ...
, outpaced by inflation. Shehbaz’s administration prioritized banning the social media platform
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
(X), and installed an internet
firewall Firewall may refer to: * Firewall (computing), a technological barrier designed to prevent unauthorized or unwanted communications between computer networks or hosts * Firewall (construction), a barrier inside a building, designed to limit the spre ...
. The internet firewall was created by the government in order to block content it deems propaganda. The firewall was widely criticized for
censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
. Furthermore, the internet firewall project was estimated to cost $300 Million. The firewall resulted in the internet worsening in Pakistan and negatively affecting businesses.


See also

*
First Shehbaz Sharif Government The Shehbaz Sharif government was formed on 10 April 2022, after Sharif was nominated as candidate for Prime Minister by opposition parties following a No-confidence motion against Imran Khan in incumbent prime minister Imran Khan during the 20 ...
*
Second Shehbaz Sharif Government After 2024 Pakistani general election, the 2024 general elections in Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif's second government was formed. Shehbaz Sharif from the Pakistan Muslim League (N), PMLN was elected as the Prime Minister. President Asif Ali Zardari ...
* Chief Ministership of Shehbaz Sharif *
List of international prime ministerial trips made by Shehbaz Sharif The following is a list of international prime ministerial trips made by Shehbaz Sharif during his First Shehbaz Sharif ministry, first term as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from April 2022 to August 2023 and his Second Shehbaz Sharif ministry, s ...


References

{{Conservatism in Pakistan Sharif, Shehbaz 2022 establishments in Pakistan Pakistan Muslim League (N) Shehbaz Sharif