Pakistan's parliament on Monday elected opposition lawmaker Shahbaz Sharif as the new prime minister, following a week of political turmoil that led to the weekend ouster of Premier Imran Khan.
Sharif took the oath of office inside the stately, white marble palace known as the Presidency in a brief ceremony.
Those 174 votes - two more than the required simple majority - are enough to pass laws in the 342-seat assembly. If Khan's followers take to the streets, as he has vowed, it could create more pressure on lawmakers and deepen the crisis. The political drama began April 3 when Khan sidestepped an initial no-confidence vote demanded by the opposition by dissolving parliament and calling early elections. The opposition, which accuses Khan of economic mismanagement, appealed to the Supreme Court. After four days of deliberations, the court said Khan's move was illegal and the no-confidence vote went ahead, leading to his ouster.
“As Pakistan's close neighbor and iron-clad friend, we sincerely hope that all factions in Pakistan will remain united and work together for national stability and development,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a briefing. “I would like to emphasize that no matter how the political situation changes in Pakistan, China will unswervingly adhere to its friendly policy toward Pakistan.
The opposition coalition consists of parties that cross the political divide, from the left to the radically religious. The two largest parties are the Pakistan Muslim League, headed by Sharif, and the Pakistan People's Party, co-chaired by the son and husband of Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister who was killed in 2007.
Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's husband who served as president of Pakistan after the 2008 election, has spent more than seven years in prison, convicted on corruption charges.