Shehbaz Sharif is chosen by the ruling PML-N to lead the party in Pakistan

Shehbaz Sharif was voted as the party’s president by the governing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday, while Maryam Nawaz was appointed as the senior vice president.

The choice was made at a meeting of the PML-N general council, which also selected Ahsan Iqbal as secretary general and other office holders.

Marriyum Aurangzeb, Ataullah Tarar, and Ishaq Dar were chosen among other party officials to serve as the secretary of information, deputy secretary, and secretary of finance and international affairs, respectively.

Uncontested elections seemed to be a sign of PML-N unity, but in reality they were a sign of the Sharif family’s iron control on the party, who essentially chose every office bearer by hand.

After Nawaz Sharif, his older brother and the previous prime minister, was first dismissed as prime minister and then prevented by the nation’s top court from leading the party as president, Shehbaz was promoted to wield the reins of the party in 2018.

According to rumors, Nawaz Sharif, who has been residing in London since he traveled there for treatment in 2019, effectively runs the PML-N from the shadows, and all decisions inside the organization need his approval.

According to insiders, he even appoints senior officials in the administration and played a key role in Ishaq Dar’s ascension to finance minister last year in lieu of Miftah Ismail.

Speaking as president after the vote, Prime Minister Shehbaz declared his sincere intention to serve as a “soldier” of his older brother, who, according to him, will return before the vote to head the party.

When Nawaz returns to Pakistan, “the political and economic landscape of the country will see a major change,” he said.

The international lender’s (IMF) requirements for a blocked loan were discussed by the prime minister, who also claimed that attempts were being made to reach a “short-term agreement” with the IMF.

Dar received appreciation from him as well for enhancing the nation’s struggling economy.

Shehbaz never took a decision without consulting his brother, Maryam Nawaz, who is regarded as Nawaz Sharif’s true successor, stated in her speech, stressing their tight relationship and the key role of the exiled former PM.

She also denounced the violence on May 9 and promised to prosecute those accountable.