Impressive oath ceremony for PM Shahbaz

Newly elected Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif took the oath of office on Monday at a simple but impressive ceremony at the Aiwan-e-Sadr, attended by the services chiefs, government functionaries and senior politicians from the ruling coalition parties and other dignities.

Shehbaz, 72, took the oath to officially become prime minister for a second time, nearly four weeks after the general election. The President of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) wore a black Sherwani in the ceremony, which was broadcast live on the state TV.

The PML-N is leading the ruling coalition, which also includes the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P). With their support, Shehbaz was elected as the 24th prime minster of the country with 201 votes in the National Assembly on Sunday.

At the ceremony, President Dr Arif Alvi administered the oath to the Shehbaz, as the outgoing caretaker prime minister Anwaarul Haq seated on the dais. After the oath-taking the tenure of the caretaker government concluded.

The dignitaries present among the guests included Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, National Assembly Speaker Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, Punjab Governor Balighur Rehman, Balochistan Governor Wali Kakar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Governor Haji Ghulam Ali, Sindh Kamran Tesori Governor, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti. However, K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur did not attend.

Also present at the ceremony were Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman Gen Sahir Shamshad, Chief of Army Staff Gen Asim Munir, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Naveed Ashraf, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Babar Sidhu and other high-ranking military officials.

On this occasion, PML-N Quaid Nawaz Sharif, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Co-Chairman Asif Ali Zardari, Hamza Shahbaz, Aleem Khan, Raja Zafarul Haq, Ahsan Iqbal, Khawaja Asif, Murtaza Javed Abbasi, Farooq Sattar and other political leaders were also present.

Diplomats posted in Islamabad from more than 70 countries participated in the ceremony, including the ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf countries.

The military leadership entered the hall together. They exchanged pleasantries with personalities. Gen Asim Munir shook hands with Nawaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. Nawaz was seated next to to Zardari and Bilawal. They also exchanged pleasantries.

After taking the oath, Prime Minister Shehbaz went to Nawaz, who hugged him and congratulated him. Shahbaz also thanked Zardari and Bilawal. At one point, Nawaz took the hands of Shehbaz and told Zardari that to take care of him [Shehbaz]. Zardari, with a smile, retorted: “We are friends with friends.”
The services chiefs also met with Prime Minister Shahbaz at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. After taking the oath of office, Shehbaz went to the Prime Minister’s Office, where a contingent of the armed forces presented him the guard of honour. He was also introduced to the staff there.