Pakistan Elects Sharif as New PM after Khan's Ouster
2022-04-12
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Pakistan's parliament elected opposition lawmaker Shahbaz Sharif as prime minister Monday.
2He replaces Imran Khan, whom Parliament had voted out of office early Sunday.
3Shahbaz Sharif was elected with 174 votes after more than 100 lawmakers from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Pakistan Justice Party, left the National Assembly in protest.
4"Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif is declared to be the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," announced the acting speaker, Asad Sadiq.
5Sharif is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.
6The older Sharif was forced to resign from office after a corruption investigation.
7Shahbaz Sharif will have just enough votes to pass laws in the 342-seat assembly.
8Imran Khan served as Pakistan's prime minister for three years and eight months.
9On April 3, Khan tried to avoid a vote to withdraw support for his leadership.
10He dismissed Parliament and called for early elections.
11The opposition appealed to the nation's Supreme Court and it ruled to return the dismissed Parliament to power four days later.
12On Sunday night, Khan urged hundreds of thousands of supporters to protest his ouster.
13He described the new leadership as an "imposed government."
14Khan's supporters marched in cities across Pakistan.
15Khan has demanded that elections be held before August 2023, the date set.
16He also accuses the opposition of working with the United States to remove him from power.
17He said he was targeted because of his independent foreign policy favoring China and Russia.
18The U.S. State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistani politics.
19Khan was also criticized for a visit he made on February 24 to Moscow.
20He held talks there with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russian tanks invaded Ukraine.
21The largest among Pakistan's opposition parties - the Pakistan People's Party, led by the son of murdered former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Pakistan Muslim League, headed by Shahbaz Sharif - have been damaged by reports of widespread corruption.
22Nawaz Sharif served as Pakistan's prime minster three times.
23He was ousted in a military overthrow in 1999 and removed again by the Supreme Court in 2015.
24After he was found guilty of financial wrongdoings, Nawaz was banned from holding office and left Pakistan.
25Benazir Bhutto served two terms as prime minister in the 1980s and 1990s.
26Bhutto was killed in a 2007 suicide attack while campaigning.
27She was the daughter of former president and prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.
28Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who served as president of Pakistan after 2008 elections, has spent more than seven years in prison, after a court ruled him guilty of corruption.
29Khan came to power in 2018, promising to break family rule in Pakistan.
30His opponents claimed he won the elections with help from the powerful military.
31The military has ruled Pakistan for half of the country's 75-year history.
32I'm Caty Weaver.
1Pakistan's parliament elected opposition lawmaker Shahbaz Sharif as prime minister Monday. He replaces Imran Khan, whom Parliament had voted out of office early Sunday. 2Shahbaz Sharif was elected with 174 votes after more than 100 lawmakers from Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, or Pakistan Justice Party, left the National Assembly in protest. 3"Mohammad Shahbaz Sharif is declared to be the prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan," announced the acting speaker, Asad Sadiq. 4Sharif is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The older Sharif was forced to resign from office after a corruption investigation. 5Shahbaz Sharif will have just enough votes to pass laws in the 342-seat assembly. 6Imran Khan served as Pakistan's prime minister for three years and eight months. On April 3, Khan tried to avoid a vote to withdraw support for his leadership. He dismissed Parliament and called for early elections. 7The opposition appealed to the nation's Supreme Court and it ruled to return the dismissed Parliament to power four days later. 8On Sunday night, Khan urged hundreds of thousands of supporters to protest his ouster. He described the new leadership as an "imposed government." Khan's supporters marched in cities across Pakistan. 9Khan has demanded that elections be held before August 2023, the date set. He also accuses the opposition of working with the United States to remove him from power. He said he was targeted because of his independent foreign policy favoring China and Russia. The U.S. State Department has denied any involvement in Pakistani politics. 10Khan was also criticized for a visit he made on February 24 to Moscow. He held talks there with Russian President Vladimir Putin as Russian tanks invaded Ukraine. 11The largest among Pakistan's opposition parties - the Pakistan People's Party, led by the son of murdered former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Pakistan Muslim League, headed by Shahbaz Sharif - have been damaged by reports of widespread corruption. 12Nawaz Sharif served as Pakistan's prime minster three times. He was ousted in a military overthrow in 1999 and removed again by the Supreme Court in 2015. After he was found guilty of financial wrongdoings, Nawaz was banned from holding office and left Pakistan. 13Benazir Bhutto served two terms as prime minister in the 1980s and 1990s. Bhutto was killed in a 2007 suicide attack while campaigning. She was the daughter of former president and prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, who served as president of Pakistan after 2008 elections, has spent more than seven years in prison, after a court ruled him guilty of corruption. 14Khan came to power in 2018, promising to break family rule in Pakistan. His opponents claimed he won the elections with help from the powerful military. The military has ruled Pakistan for half of the country's 75-year history. 15I'm Caty Weaver. 16Hai Do adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by The Associated Press. 17____________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19impose - v. to force someone to accept