Shehbaz Sharif nominated Pak PM candidate by opposition
Opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif, the 70-year-old younger brother of former three-time prime minister Nawaz Sharif, has been nominated Prime Minister candidate after the unceremonious ouster of Imran Khan.
The joint opposition - comprising of socialist, liberal and radically religious parties - secured the support of 174 members in the 342-member assembly, more than the needed strength of 172 to oust Khan, reports the NDTV.
Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Party members had walked out of the assembly just before the vote commenced and only the opposition voted in the no-confidence motion.
He was not present in the assembly during the process and vacated the Prime Minister's official residence minutes before he lost the vote.
Opposition party PPP's Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari congratulated the people of Pakistan.
"Democracy was under attack for the last three years. Welcome to purana (old) Pakistan," he said in a jibe at Imran Khan's poll pitch of "Naya (new) Pakistan". Democracy is a golden vengeance, he added.