Shehbaz Sharif — Overview of PM-elect's performance and what challenges he faces

In his relatively short tenure as prime minister, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif has proven himself as a force to reckon with, meticulously holding together a motley crew of — with some of them poles apart — political schools of thought for a bumpy governance ride of around 16 months.

His strategic spearheading of the government not only kept a fragile coalition together but also proved phenomenal in seizing a crucial International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreement in the eleventh hour of 2023.

Shehbaz is the only politician in the country’s chequered political history to be elected as Pakistan’s prime minister for the second consecutive term.

Before becoming the prime minister in August 2022 for a brief 16-month stint, Shehbaz, the now 24th premier, was known as a good administrator, having served as the Punjab chief minister thrice in the country’s most populous province, Punjab.

Ahead of the 2024 general elections, according to analysts and political pundits, his elder brother Nawaz Sharif was a hot favourite to become the country’s prime minister for the fourth time.

However, despite winning a National Assembly seat, Nawaz named his younger brother as the party’s nominee for the top slot as he did not want to lead the coalition government.

February 8 polls returned a hung parliament as no party secured enough seats to form a majority government in the Centre, forcing the PML-N to ally with Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), and other smaller parties.

Longest-serving CM

Shehbaz is the longest-serving chief minister of the Punjab province, having served three times in this capacity since he began his political career nearly four decades ago.

He is a graduate of the Government College in Lahore. He first came into the spotlight in 1985, when he was appointed the president of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

His forays into politics began in 1988 when he was elected a member of the Punjab assembly. He served for a short stint, till 1990 when the assembly was dissolved.

The same year, he contested and won a national assembly constituency and became a member of the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament. In 1993, he again returned to the Punjab assembly and was appointed leader of the opposition till 1996.

Then in 1997, Sharif won a Punjab Assembly constituency for the third time and went on to become the chief minister of Punjab.

However, after the military overthrew the PML-N’s government, Shehbaz was imprisoned and later sent into exile for eight years.

In 2008, the younger Sharif was again elected a member of the Punjab Assembly and became chief minister for a second term. This time he served his full term.

After the general polls in 2013, Shehbaz returned as chief minister of his home province. While in the 2018 polls, he decided to retain his national assembly seat and was nominated as the leader of the Opposition.

In April 2022, Shehbaz became the prime minister after ousting the then-premier Imran Khan via a no-trust motion tabled by a joint opposition alliance — Pakistan Democrat Alliance (PDM).

Shehbaz’s brief tenure performance

The younger Sharif played a key role in keeping together a coalition of disparate parties for 16 months and in securing a last-gasp IMF deal in 2023.

Shehbaz’s biggest achievement in his short tenure was clinching a bailout from the IMF with Pakistan on the brink of a debt default.

However, under his government, inflation touched a high of 38% with a record depreciation of the rupee — mainly due to structural reforms necessitated by the IMF programme to stabilise the economy.

He blames the economic meltdown on Khan's government, which he says broke an agreement with the IMF just before he was ousted.

Key challenges

Pakistan continues to be enmeshed in the economic crisis with inflation running sky high, hovering around 30%, and economic growth slowing to around 2%.

Shehbaz will need to emulate his feat of securing a short-term IMF bailout with the current programme expiring next month and a new extended deal needed to keep Pakistan on a narrow path to recovery.

Privatising some lumbering state giants, including the national airline, and securing foreign investment will also be key to easing the economic crisis. 

The Sharifs have close ties with rulers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which could help in securing investments in several projects Pakistan has lately showcased for sale.

Shehbaz will have to juggle relations with the US and China, both major allies. He also faces the daunting diplomatic task of dealing with fraying ties with three of Pakistan's four neighbours — India, Iran, and Afghanistan.

As the country braces for the challenges ahead, Shehbaz's leadership will be ruthlessly audited not only by his allies but also by rivals, and his ability to manoeuvre Pakistan out of the economic woods, foster political harmony and diplomatic stability will forge his legacy in the upcoming political history of a country marred by a plethora of crises — all fingers are crossed.