Imran Khan Defeats Shehbaz Sharif to Become Pakistan’s 22nd Prime Minister

Islamabad: Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan was on Friday elected Pakistan’s 22nd Prime Minister in a vote in the country’s National Assembly, three weeks after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party won the highest number of seats in the general election. Khan, 65, secured 176 votes out of the total 272 cast in polling in the lower house, while his opponent Shahbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) got 96 votes, according to National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser. Khan will take the oath of office on Saturday. The announcement of his election came amid protests from opposition lawmakers who shouted slogans denouncing alleged electoral fraud during the general elections. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the third largest party in the house that joined the PML-N and others in an opposition alliance, withdrew its support for Shahbaz Sharif’s candidature as Premier days before the election and abstained from voting, Dawn online reported. (IANS)