ISLAMABAD
(Reuters) - Former petroleum minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi is poised to become
Pakistan's new prime minister in a parliamentary vote on Tuesday, just days
after the ouster of veteran leader Nawaz Sharif, as the ruling party aims to
project stability.
A quick
transition should ease fears that the nuclear-armed nation would be plunged
into another bout of political instability, which could erode economic and
security gains since the last poll in 2013.
Sharif
resigned on Friday after the Supreme Court disqualified him for not declaring a
source of income - which the three-time premier disputes receiving. He
nominated staunch ally Abbasi as interim leader until his brother, Shahbaz,
becomes eligible to take over, probably within two months.
Sharif's
PML-N party won elections in 2013 and holds a majority of 188 seats in the
342-member parliament, so it should be able to swiftly install its choice of
prime minister, barring defections from its own ranks.
The vote is
expected soon after parliament meets at 3 p.m. (1000 GMT).
"Our
party will succeed with our majority, God willing," Abassi told reporters
inside parliament after filing the official nomination papers on Monday.
But the plan
to eventually install Shahbaz has also sparked anger among supporters of
opposition leader Imran Khan, who has criticized another bout of dynastic
politics, a trend with a long history in Pakistan and elsewhere in South Asia.
Khan, who
agitated with street protests until the Supreme Court took up a corruption case
against Sharif, has called the family a "monarchy" and accused it of
trying to turn the country into a personal fiefdom.
Shahbaz, now
chief minister of the vast eastern province of Punjab home to more than half of
Pakistan's 190 million people, will have to resign and fight a parliamentary
by-election before he can take over as prime minister.
His aides
say he is likely to usher in a new personal style of government, while probably
continuing his brother's focus on huge infrastructure projects and policies
favoring business.
Interim
Leader
Western-educated
Abbasi, who started his career as a businessman, has spent most of his
political life by Sharif's side. He was jailed after Pakistan's powerful
military staged a coup in 1999 to topple a previous Sharif government.
As minister
of petroleum and natural resources in Sharif's last cabinet, he championed
Pakistan's push to build liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure and
alleviate crippling energy shortages.
The LNG push
has attracted foreign companies, who now see Pakistan as one of the world's
fastest-growing markets, having initially paid it little attention. Growth will
increase fivefold, Abbasi told Reuters last month.
The
opposition has also accused Abbasi of corruption over the bidding for an LNG
deal in the southern port city of Karachi, citing a National Accountability
Bureau (NAB) inquiry case filed in 2015 that alleges procurement
irregularities.
The NAB case
has made little progress and Abbasi has denied any wrongdoing, with PML-N
allies saying the opposition wants to detract from the success of the LNG
effort.
A senior
Pakistani gas official said one of the two bidders for the contract was
disqualified by British consultants hired by the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID), leaving a clear winner. The rejected bidder's price was
also higher, the official added.
In
Pakistan's rough-and-tumble politics, charges of corruption against leading
politicians are common and several figures, including opposition leader Khan,
face court cases.
Besides
ordering Sharif's removal, the Supreme Court also ordered a criminal
investigation into him and his family, as well as Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.
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