Shahid Khaqan Abbasi: What You Need to Know About Pakistan’s New Prime Minister

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi: What You Need to Know About Pakistan’s New Prime Minister
A steadfast ally of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Mr. Abbasi, 58, was named interim prime minister
last week after the Supreme Court disqualified Mr. Sharif from office and he was forced to resign.
It is assumed that Mr. Abbasi is holding the office until Mr. Sharif’s brother Shehbaz Sharif, the chief minister
of Punjab Province, wins a seat in Parliament in a coming by-election and can become prime minister.
1, 2017
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a politician educated in the United States, was elected prime minister of Pakistan on Tuesday.
After being elected to Parliament in 2008, he was named commerce minister, and he was appointed minister of petroleum and natural resources in 2013.
Mr. Abbasi at the time was pressured by the military to testify against Mr. Sharif, but he refused and was jailed.
After losing his first and only election in 2002, Mr. Abbasi founded Airblue Limited, a budget carrier.