The election of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as Pakistan's new prime minister on Tuesday has ended political uncertainty in the country created due to the removal of Nawaz Sharif over corruption charges by the country's top court, said local watchers, Chinese media reported Wednesday.
The election of Abbasi, a senior leader of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, has ensured continuation of Sharif's policies, they said, Xinhua news agency reported.
In his first address to the National Assembly after his election, the new prime minister listed strengthening of economy and agriculture, promotion of tax culture and investment, and security as his top priorities.
As Pakistan faces energy crisis, Abbasi promised the nation that there would be no power outage after November this year and that 10,000 megawatts of additional electricity will be added to the national grid.
Independent political observers, lawmakers and politicians are upbeat at the successful transition and hoped it ensures the continuation of the democratic process which is very good sign for the political stability in Pakistan.
Jan Muhammad Achakzai, a senior leader of the PML-N, said that Prime Minister Abbasi's election will take out Pakistan from “political uncertainty” after the Supreme Court ousted Nawaz Sharif.
“Pakistan's democracy is back on track now as a sign of continuity. Economic policies will continue with Mr Khaqan Abbasi,” Achkzai told Xinhua on Wednesday.
He said the multi-billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects will be PM Abbasi's priority as the government attaches great importance to the construction of the energy and infrastructure projects in the country.
“All fears of work slowing down on CPEC have been paid to rest following the assurance of the Prime Minister to pursue Nawaz Sharif's commitment to complete CPEC on time,” said Achakzai, who is also the adviser to the Chief Minister of Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province.
Dr Ghazi Gulab Jamal, a former minister and sitting member of the parliament, said the whole process of the prime minister election was completed in accordance with the constitution.
“Pakistan was in the state of a political chaos after the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, but the PML-N and other parties showed political maturity to deal with the difficult situation and the situation has now returned to normalcy with the election of the new prime minister,” Jamal told Xinhua.
Jamal, an independent member of the National Assembly from Orakzai tribal region, said it would send a positive message across the country and outside that all political parties agreed on the unanimous selection of Khaqan Abbasi.
Like political leaders, independent political watchers also share the notion that democratic system is strengthened in view of the uninterrupted election of the prime minister and that Abbasi will continue Nawaz Sharif's policies.
Omar Farooq Zain, Professor of the Department of Politics and International Relations at Bahaudin Zakria University in Multan, said “I believe he will try to do the things more aggressively and pro-actively, especially related to development projects.”
Speaking about the possible challenges, he argued that the biggest challenge for the new prime minister will be to deal with senior party leaders who are going to be part of his cabinet.
Professor Saeed Chaudhry, Director, Islamabad Council for International Affairs, told Xinhua that the election of Abbasi as the prime minister will impress PML-N voters and will increase their trust and belief in the party that a political worker who is not from Sharif family or other ruling class can also become the prime minister of the country.
The Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa also expressed satisfaction at the democratic process when a journalist sought his comments during the oath-taking ceremony of the new prime minister, said local media.
