Shehbaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-N), has assumed the role of Pakistan's Prime Minister for a second term. On Tuesday, March 5, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his congratulations to Sharif following his swearing-in ceremony. (Image: Reuters)
Early Life: Born in Lahore on September 23, 1951, Sharif's family moved from Amritsar, India, to Lahore, Pakistan, during the 1947 partition. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Government College University, Lahore. His father, Muhammad Sharif, was an industrialist, and his brother, Nawaz Sharif, served three non-consecutive terms as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. (Image: Reuters)
Career Highlights: Beginning his political journey in 1988, Shehbaz Sharif secured a seat in the Provincial Assembly of Punjab. During this period, his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, gained prominence as the chief minister (1985–90) of Punjab, the largest province in Pakistan. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
In 1990, Shehbaz Sharif won a seat in the National Assembly of Pakistan, and by 1993, he assumed the role of the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly. His political trajectory led him to become the Chief Minister of Punjab in 1997. (Image: Reuters)
In 1999 he was deposed in a military coup; he and his family was forcibly exiled to Saudi Arabia as part of a deal for his brother’s pardon. He returned to Pakistan in 2007. (Image: Reuters)
In 2008, he assumed the role of Chief Minister of Punjab for his second term, and in 2013, he was appointed Chief Minister of Punjab for the third term, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of the province. (Image: Wikimedia Commons)
He took the reins of leadership in the PML-N in 2017 after the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif from holding office. In 2018, he became leader of the opposition in the National Assembly after Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) beat PML-N in Pakistan general elections. (Image: Reuters)
In 2019, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) froze 23 properties linked to Sharif and his son, Hamza, alleging money laundering. Subsequently, Sharif was arrested in 2020. In the same year, he established the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), a coalition comprising the PML-N, the PPP, and several other smaller opposition parties. (Image: Reuters)
In 2021, the Lahore High Court granted bail to Sharif, and the following year, the PDM coalition ousted Imran Khan from the position of Prime Minister of Pakistan through a no-confidence motion. Consequently, Sharif assumed the role of Pakistan's new Prime Minister. (Image: Reuters)
In 2023, three days prior to the end of parliamentary term, Sharif stepped down from his government, paving the way for a caretaker administration and delaying elections beyond their original set date in October. Subsequently, elections took place in February 2024, and in March 2024, Sharif assumed the position of the 24th Prime Minister of Pakistan. (Image: Reuters)