Shehbaaz Sharif was elected as Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Monday after rival candidate Shah Mahmood Qureshi announced that his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party will boycott the voting and staged a walkout. 

The brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif, Shehbaz, will be the 23rd leader of Pakistan. The 70-year-old received 174 votes in the National Assembly- two more than the simple majority of 172.

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Sharif will succeed Imran Khan, who lost his office after a no-confidence vote went against him. 

In his first address as Pakistan PM, Sharif thanked the almighty to save the country. 

“Today, the almighty has saved Pakistan and the 22 crore people of the country. This is the first time when the vote of no-confidence motion was successfully passed. The people of this country will celebrate this day,” he said. 

The Pakistan Muslim League (N) leader added that the US dollar’s value declining by Rs 8 signified the “happiness of the people”. He also thanked the Supreme Court for rejecting Imran Khan’s bid for snap elections. 

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Sharif further termed his predecessor’s ‘foreign conspiracy ‘ claims as “drama”, saying he will resign and go home if it is proved.

“Pakistan’s National Security Committee would be briefed on a controversial letter related to the so-called foreign conspiracy,” he said, terming Khan’s ‘foreign conspiracy’ claims as “drama”.

Khan had alleged that the US was involved in a conspiracy to topple his government.

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“I will resign and go home if conspiracy is proved in letter controversy,” Shehbaz said.

The process of electing the new leader of the House began on Sunday after prime minister Imran Khan was removed from office through the no-confidence vote, becoming the first premier in the country’s history to be sent home after losing the trust of the House.