Who is Shehbaz Sharif, the Kashmiri who could replace Imran Khan?

While he has had a successful political career, Shahbaz hasn't been able to step out of Nawaz's shadow. Only time will tell if and when he becomes Pakistan Prime Minister, will he continue with his workaholic attitude he was known for during his days as Punjab CM.

Embattled Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan is on the verge of losing power as the opposition claims they have stacked up enough numbers against his government in the no-trust motion, the voting for which is likely to happen by April 4.

The crucial Pakistan Assembly session to debate the no-confidence motion against Khan has been adjourned till 11:30 am (Pakistan time) on Sunday. Khan needs 172 votes in the lower house of 342 to save his seat but Maulana Fazlur Rehman, chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), claims that the Opposition has the support of 175 lawmakers.

If Imran loses the non-confidence motion, which seems likely for now, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president and the leader of the opposition Shehbaz Sharif is likely to replace Khan as the Prime Minister of the country. Shehbaz is the younger brother of the controversial former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif. He was the one who, on March 28, tabled the no-confidence motion against Khan's government in the National Assembly.

Shehbaz was born on September 23, 1951, to a Punjabi-speaking Kashmiri family. His father Muhammad Sharif was born in Jati Umra in Amritsar but the family was originally from Anantnag in Kashmir and had travelled and settled in Punjab. Muhammad Sharif married Shamim Akhtar, with whom he had three sons Nawaz, Shehbaz and Abbas. The family migrated to Lahore after the partition.

Shehbaz did his BA from Government College University, Lahore and joined his father's steel company Ittefaq Group. He was also chosen to lead the Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry in 1985. Among his key political achievements include him serving as the Chief Minister of Punjab three times - 1997, 2008, and 2013. He had to leave Pakistan and live in exile in Saudi Arabia for eight years after the 1999 coup led by General Pervez Musharraf.

He again became the Chief Minister of Punjab after PML-N won the 2008 elections. Shehbaz continued as CM in the second term as well until 2018 when his party faced a defeat after which he was nominated as the leader of the opposition. In 2019, the National Accountability Bureau seized several properties of Shehbaz and his son, Hamza, as a case of money laundering was lodged against them. Shehbaz was arrested and jailed from September 2020 till April 2021 when he was finally given bail by the Lahore High Court.

While he has had a successful political career, Shahbaz hasn't been able to step out of Nawaz's shadow. Only time will tell if and when he becomes Pakistan Prime Minister, will he continue with his workaholic attitude he was known for during his days as Punjab CM. As of now, Pakistan has once again turned into a political livewire with allegations, 'secret letters', and 'conspiracies' looming large.