Shahbaz Sharif set to become Punjab Chief Minister, again

Islamabad: Shahbaz Sharif is likely to become the chief minister of Pakistan`s Punjab province again, a media report said Monday. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, which has emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly and has done well in the Punjab provincial assembly polls, does not seem inclined to try a new face for the top post in the party`s stronghold, reported Dawn. At an informal meeting held Sunday at the Raiwind residence of Nawaz Sharif, who is poised to become the prime minister for the third time, PML-N leaders discussed plans for forming governments at the centre and in the provinces.

A PML-N leader told the daily Dawn there was a consensus that Shahbaz Sharif was the best choice for managing the affairs of Punjab. Shahbaz Sharif became the chief minister of Punjab for the first time in 1997 and again in 2008. The PML-N leader said that they were contacting other parties to explore the possibility of forming governments in other provinces, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where the Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has emerged the single largest party. On Saturday, millions of Pakistanis braved Taliban threat and bombings to cast their vote in elections to the National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies. IANS