Meet the new prime minister

Published
20
PML-N nominee for PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. —File
PML-N nominee for PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi. —File

PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was elected prime minister of Pakistan by lawmakers on Tuesday.

Abbasi, an electrical engineer with a master's degree from George Washington University, served as the minister of petroleum and natural resources in Nawaz Sharif’s third term, which ended on July 28, 2017 after the Supreme Court of Pakistan disqualified him as Pakistan’s prime minister.

Abbasi, 58, has remained mostly unbeaten in his political career, having only lost to PPP candidate Ghulam Murtaza Satti in 2002. However, aside from that particular contest, he has won every election he has contested in from 1988 till 2013.

Abbasi has represented Rawalpindi since first being elected a member of the National Assembly in 1988. He was elected after the death of his father, Khaqan Abbasi — the then minister of production.

He was elected as member of the National Assembly in the 1990 general elections for the second time and made parliamentary secretary for defence.

In the 1993 general elections, he was elected to parliament once more and held office as the chairman of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Defence.

Abbasi was elected again, for the fourth time, in 1997, and served as Chairman of Pakistan International Airlines from 1997 to 1999 in Nawaz Sharif’s second term.

The interim prime minister-designate briefly held the positions of Minister for Commerce and Ministry of Defense Production in Yousuf Raza Gilani’s government in 2008.

An inquiry against Abbasi in a Rs220 billion corruption case was wrapped up by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in December, 2016. He was a principal accused in the NAB case registered in 2015 regarding award of a liquefied natural gas import contract.

Opinion

Editorial

Kashmir unresolved
Updated 30 Sep, 2026

Kashmir unresolved

The just solution lies in India addressing the issue through a trilateral dialogue involving the legitimate representatives of the Kashmiri people and Pakistan.
Water shortage
30 Sep, 2026

Water shortage

THAT the country is entering the Rabi season with an anticipated water shortage of nearly 25pc, the lowest carryover...
Young hearts
30 Sep, 2026

Young hearts

THE observance may have passed, but the message of World Heart Day should not fade with it. The occasion is a useful...
Terror and politics
Updated 29 Sep, 2026

Terror and politics

There is an urgent need to tone down the rhetoric and tackle terrorism as a collective challenge for both the affected provinces and the federation.
Watching the glaciers
29 Sep, 2026

Watching the glaciers

THE latest signs from Pakistan’s mountains are worrying. Suparco says the number of unfrozen glacial lakes it...
Dangerous agenda
29 Sep, 2026

Dangerous agenda

AS the world remains fixated on the US-Iran conflict, elsewhere in the Middle East, Israel is consolidating its grip...