Syed Raza Hassan, Gibran Naiyyar Pershimam

ISLAMABAD, (Reuters) – Shehbaz Sharif is Pakistan’s most probable next prime minister. However, he has a domestic reputation as an efficient administrator rather than as a politician.

Shehbaz, the 70-year-old younger brother of Nawaz Sharif (three-time prime minister), is leading a campaign by opposition members to remove Imran Khan. Khan will be replaced if there is a no confidence vote on Saturday.

Analysts claim that Shehbaz has amicable relationships with Pakistan’s military. This is unlike Nawaz who controls the foreign and defence policies in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed country of 220,000,000 people.

The generals of Pakistan have intervened in civilian elections three times. Since 1947, no South Asian state has been independent from Britain.

Shehbaz Sharif is part of the rich Sharif dynasty. He’s best-known for his “can-do” style of administration. This was evident when he served as Punjab chief minister and worked with China to fund projects.

In an interview with The Guardian last week, Khan also indicated that Pakistan’s good relations are crucial for the United States for both better and worse.

Sharif is not yet eligible to become Pakistan’s 23rd prime Minister.

He faces immediate problems if he accepts the position, including Pakistan’s rapidly falling economy and high inflation.

Analysts say Sharif won’t act completely independent as he must work with his brother and other opposition parties to achieve a common agenda.

Since being released from prison, Nawaz, which was his sentence for corruption and was suffering medical treatment, has been living in London for two years.

‘PUNJAB SPEED’

Shehbaz Sharif was Pakistan’s chief minister for Punjab. He planned and implemented a variety of infrastructure mega-projects including Pakistan’s first mass transportation system.

According to local media sources, Sharif was praised by the Chinese consul General last year for his “Punjab Speed”. Execution of projects under the enormous China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Initiative (CPEC) is being commended.

A diplomat stated that Sharif and his party were friends with China, whether in government or opposition.

Islamabad, which is trying to end instability in Afghanistan by compel the Taliban to respect its human rights obligations while trying to persuade them to comply with international law regarding Afghanistan.

Khan has not been a fan of Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalism Prime Minister, but the Sharif political dynasty is more friendly towards Pakistan, whose nuclear-armed neighbor has fought three wars.

Sharif’s relationship to the military is a matter of public opinion. He has been Nawaz’s public “bad cop”, while Sharif was Nawaz’s public “good guy”. Nawaz has also had several public disputes with Sharif.

Shehbaz was raised in Lahore by a well-off industrial family. He was also educated there. Then he joined the family business to jointly run a Pakistani-owned steel company.

In Punjab, he entered politics and became the chief minister. However, in 1997 he was arrested in connection with a coup military coup. In 2000, he was exiled to Saudi Arabia.

Shehbaz, who was exiled in 2007, returned to Punjab in order to resume his political career.

After Nawaz’s 2017 conviction on concealing assets in connection to Panama Papers revelations, he was made the head of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), and subsequently entered politics.

According to the Sharif family members and their supporters, these cases were motivated by politics.

While both brothers were involved in numerous cases of corruption at the National Accountability Bureau under Khan’s premiership and others, Shehbaz was not found guilty.