Former Pak PM Nawaz Sharif Elected Unopposed As Party Chief: Report

Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has been elected unopposed as the President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), as reported by ARY News.

Sharif, who previously lost the presidency of PML-N due to a Supreme Court ruling in the Panama Papers case six years ago, has now reclaimed the position unopposed.

The party’s five-member election commission, chaired by Rana Sanaullah and including Iqbal Jhagra, Ishrat Ashraf, Jamal Shah Kakar, and Khealdas Kohistani, oversaw the election process.

Notably, no candidate submitted nomination papers against Nawaz Sharif, paving the way for his uncontested election, according to ARY News.

During the session, the general council will also address resolutions concerning Kashmir, Palestine, and other pertinent matters.

Initially scheduled for May 11, the party’s general council meeting for the presidential election was later rescheduled to coincide with Youm-e-Takbeer on May 28. This date marks 26 years since Pakistan’s historic nuclear tests on May 28th, 1998.

It’s worth mentioning that Nawaz Sharif was previously disqualified from holding any public position following his conviction in 2018.

Sharif faced convictions in both the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references by the Accountability Court, resulting in a 10-year jail term and an eight-million-pound fine in the Avenfield case, and a seven-year sentence in the Al-Azizia reference, accompanied by a fine of Rs1.5 billion and USD25 million. Additionally, he was disqualified from holding public office for 10 years.

However, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) acquitted him in both the Avenfield and Al-Azizia references on November 29 and December 12 of the previous year, respectively. Following his acquittals, Sharif contested and emerged victorious in the General Elections 2024 from NA-130 Lahore, ARY News reported.