Despite the popular rhetoric that Maryam Nawaz Sharif will be the successor after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif hangs up his boots, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif will fill the slot of prime minister.
“Many people regard his daughter Maryam Nawaz Sharif as the de facto prime minister, but it’s actually going to be his brother Shahbaz Sharif,” eminent journalist Arif Nizami said on his talk show.
If Shahbaz becomes prime minister, he said, Minister for Defence Khawaja Muhammad Asif would likely fill up the space left vacant by the Punjab chief minister.
Nizami said Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is desperate to return to Pakistan and spend the rest of his convalescing time at his Jati Umra residence in Raiwind.
He said that a picture of the prime minister is circulating on social media which shows that he is recovering swiftly, but in reality his condition is not as good as it is being depicted.
– Army chief’s extension –
Nizami said the incumbent government is not in favour of giving an extension in service to Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif.
However, he said Shahbaz Sharif and Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan are in favour of extending Gen Sharif’s term and are making efforts in this regard.
“When we look at the relations between the civilian and military leadership, they don’t appear to be on the same page.”
