Pak PM-designate Shehbaz Sharif calls for ‘freedom of Kashmiris, Palestinians’ in victory speech

Islamabad: Addressing the National Assembly after being unanimously picked as the next prime minister of the ruling coalition of the PML(N), PPP and other small outfits, Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday called out the ‘global silence’ on the prevailing situation in Gaza while seeking a bipartisan resolution in the House advocating ‘freedom’ for Kashmiris and Palestinians, Dawn reported.

“Let’s all come together…and the National Assembly should pass a resolution for the freedom of Kashmiris and Palestinians,” PM-designate Shehbaz said in a ‘victory speech’ at the Assembly.

The Pakistan National Assembly on Sunday elected Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shehbaz Sharif as the 24th elected Prime Minister of the country, during a session that started with Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) members creating a ruckus by shouting slogans.

The PM-designate stated further that amid the severe economic downturn in the country and livelihood concerns of the people, even the expenditures of the National Assembly were being paid by borrowed money, Dawn reported.

He replied that the biggest challenge for Pakistan was that “all of the expenditure was being met via loans only”, the report noted.

“All of these (expenses for running the House) is being met via loans over the last few years. This is the biggest challenge faced by the country today,” he said.

“All of our salaries are being paid via taxes. Does such a situation warrant such hooliganism?” he added, in a veiled dig at the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) and other rival voices who have been contesting the results of the February 8 general elections.

He also rued the debt crisis that the country is grappling with, Dawn added in its report.

Meanwhile, JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said his party leadership decided to go to the Parliament despite its reservations over the poll outcome in the country.

Despite its decision to participate in the session of the newly elected National Assembly, Rehman said his party’s original position to reject the 2024 elections was being proven right.

“In the history of Pakistan, we used to think that 2018 was the biggest rigging that took place in the general election, however, 2024 has broken that record,” Rehman said in Karachi.