With former prime minister Imran Khan and his party – Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on the backfoot, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has appealed to the people to elect his exiled brother Nawaz Sharif as the next prime minister.

With the tenure of the parliament coming to an end next month, a caretaker government will manage the country’s affairs till elections are held in November.

Making a strong pitch for Nawaz Sharif as the prime minister for the fourth time, Shehbaz said he would “make Pakistan great”. Addressing people at various events in Sialkot and Lahore, the prime minister said: “Nawaz Sharif Sahib will turn Pakistan into a progressive state if people provide him another opportunity to lead the country. Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the entire leadership of PML-N would change the destiny of the country by putting it on the path of progress and prosperity”.

Hitting out at Imran Khan, Shehbaz said that PTI led a four-year “saga of destruction”, adding that Imran Khan only sought to torment his political rivals by putting them in jails under false cases.

Shehbaz hit out at Imran Khan for his phobia of political opponents and disregard for bureaucracy. The Prime Minister also lashed at the judiciary for its pro-Imran bias, saying that while Nawaz Sharif had to appeal before the courts, Imran was being granted bail in every other case.

Even as Shehbaz has begun to hold talks with coalition partners, which will be followed by talks with the opposition, the constitution of the caretaker government is becoming controversial.

While coalition partner Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) has said that the caretaker prime minister should only be a politician, Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid Ahmed issued a warning. He said that the ruling coalition should not play games or manipulate the caretaker
setup, which could impact the elections in a negative manner.