By IANS,
Islamabad : Nawaz Sharif, whose party emerged victorious in the general elections, Tuesday submitted nomination papers to contest for the position of Pakistan’s prime minister.
The National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament in the country, will elect the new prime minister Wednesday following the May 11 general elections, reported Xinhua.
Sharif’s name was proposed by Chief of Pakhtunkhawa Milli Awami Party Mahmoud Khan Achakzai, an ally of the PML (N), and some party leaders.
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party emerged as the single largest party in the elections and has already got the required number of seats to easily win the election.
Several other parties have also announced support to Nawaz Sharif for the PM office contesting.
PML-N candidates for the office of the assembly’s speaker and deputy speaker were elected with absolute majority Monday, which is a clear indication that Sharif will win the election without any problem.
Nawaz Sharif will be challenged by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which has nominated Javed Hashmi for the post. Javed Hashmi also filed nomination papers at the National Assembly secretariat.
Hashmi had been a senior leader of PML-N but quit the party two years ago over differences with the party’s leadership.
The outgoing ruling Pakistan Peoples Party has also announced to field its own candidate to fight against Nawaz Sharif. The party has already nominated its President Makhdoom Amin Faheem as candidate for the PM office.
The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) has announced to support Nawaz Sharif in the PM election.
Nawaz Sharif has served twice as prime minister of the country and is set to lead Pakistan for the third time.