The US government has welcomed the selection of Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former PM Nawaz Sharif, as the chief minister of Punjab. Terming it as a milestone in Pakistani politics, the US has said that it looks forward to working with Islamabad on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life.
The 50-year-old took oath as the first-ever woman chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous and politically crucial province.
Addressing reporters at a news conference, state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said, “Her [Maryam Nawaz Sharif] selection as chief minister is a milestone in Pakistani politics.”
“We look forward to cooperating with Pakistan more broadly on integrating women more fully into the country’s political life, in the economy, including through the US-Pakistan Women’s Council, civil society, and other decision-making spaces,” he said.
Maryam is considered to be the political heir to 74-year-old Nawaz Sharif, the three-time former prime minister. Her appointment as the chief minister of the state was part of a deal worked out between Nawaz’s party Pakistan Muslim League- Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) to form the next government when both had failed to secure a majority in the national assembly.
Political observers said Maryam, who rose to be the emblem of resistance for the PML-N after her father Nawaz Sharif was ousted from power in 2017, is currently “aligned with the powerful military establishment”
Maryam rose to become the face of the party after her father Nawaz Sharif was ousted from power in 2017.
Shehbaz Sharif has become the prime minister of Pakistan for the second time after his coalition government secured a majority in the newly-elected Parliament.
In the recently concluded polls in Pakistan, no party secured a majority in the February 8 poll. Candidates affiliated with PTI under former Prime Minister Imran Khan were forced to run as independents with the election commission cancelling the party symbol ahead of the polls.
