PM Election: Shahid Khaqan Abbasi submits nomination papers

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Former petroleum minister and nominated interim prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has on Monday submitted his nomination papers. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominated Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as the interim prime minister to replace ousted leader Nawaz Sharif, with Sharif's brother Shahbaz chosen as the long-term successor. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is the former federal minister for petroleum and natural resources, and a businessman who launched the country’s most successful private airline. Considered highly intelligent and a long-time loyalist of Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister who was ousted by the Supreme Court on Friday, the 58-year-old Abbasi will act as a placeholder for the Sharif dynasty. He is due to be rubber stamped by in a parliamentary vote as prime minister until Sharif’s younger brother Shahbaz, a provincial minister, can be elected to the national assembly and take over the leadership. The parliament will meet on Tuesday to elect a new prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified Nawaz Sharif following an investigation into corruption allegations against his family.