Shahbaz Sharif was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan

PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif has been elected as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan. Moment-by-moment updates on the National Assembly and the political situation in the country

He was administered the oath of office by Chairman Senate Sadiq Sanjrani in a ceremony held at the Presidency due to illness of the President.

A tweet from the Pakistani government's Twitter account said that doctors had advised President Arif Ali to rest due to his illness.

Earlier, Shahbaz Sharif was elected Prime Minister with 174 votes after voting in the National Assembly for the election of a new Leader of the House.

Shah Mehmood Qureshi of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had also filed nomination papers against Shahbaz Sharif, however, he boycotted the voting.

Moment-by-moment updates on the National Assembly session and the overall political situation in the country.

Pakistan: How strong will the new United Opposition government be?

Following the success of the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan in the National Assembly, the United Opposition candidate Shahbaz Sharif has been sworn in as the Prime Minister while a member of the PPP is likely to be nominated for the post of Speaker National Assembly.

It may be recalled that after the decision of the Supreme Court, a vote of no-confidence was taken in the National Assembly on April 9 and on April 11, PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif was sworn in as the Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) decided not to sit in the National Assembly and decided to resign.

However, Shahbaz Sharif, in his first address to the people after being elected as the Prime Minister in the National Assembly, gave relief to the people by announcing increase in salaries of government employees and reduction of flour prices in Ramadan.

Now the question arises that what will be the government of the opposition, will complete the remaining term of the National Assembly and what will be the biggest challenges to it? The short answer to these questions may be that power will be a 'sage of thorns' for the new government.

Election cover or duration?

The first and foremost decision of this coalition of the opposition, the Pakistan Democratic Alliance or the PDM, is to hold early general elections or allow the current National Assembly to complete its remaining term for the rest of the year.

Prior to the political crisis, the Imran Khan government had planned to conduct a re-census in August this year so that elections could be held in a better manner.

Will it be possible? Election reforms and preparations for new elections will also be major challenges for the opposition.

Former Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid, who is known for his political predictions, has said that "he is looking at general elections in August or September." His predictions often did not prove to be correct.

In this regard, analyst Irfan Siddiqui says that "the opposition has achieved its first victory and the alliance that has been formed is to hold new elections in the next six or eight months by carrying out election reforms."

New government

The biggest challenge for the opposition comprising major political parties like PML-N, PPP, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUI-F) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) will be to maintain the existing alliance.

The first priority after the overthrow of Imran Khan's government will be the formation of a new government. The Prime Minister and the Speaker of the National Assembly have been thinking about this but some are always happy and often angry with the division of ministers and ministries in the cabinet.

Who will get important ministries and who will not get anything. How many ministries can the allies be satisfied with? Within a one-party government, problems arise over the distribution of ministries. This is an alliance of several parties, so the chances of disagreement are high.

According to the opposition, apart from the Prime Minister and the Speaker, issues regarding nominations for posts in the federation and Punjab have not been settled. The first step for them was to remove the Prime Minister and Chief Minister of Punjab and after the completion of this stage nominations for the remaining posts will be considered.

But with the father at the center and the son holding the highest positions in the province, PML-N opponents are already criticizing the party's family political legacy.

PPP leader Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed has said that "the next step for them is the power sharing formula, which has not been decided yet."

The economic challenge

According to analysts, the new government will face more economic challenges than political ones. Maintaining or changing the agreements reached with the IMF, controlling inflation, improving administrative matters will be a big test.

The new government will have to make major decisions regarding the agreements reached with the IMF and the economic policies. It will also take time to rectify the way the Imran government has run the administration.

If the issues are not resolved soon, the responsibility will fall on all these parties.

In the troubled economic situation, many people, all the political parties in the country have to work together to resolve the issue under an agreement called the Charter of Economy.

Opposition leader and prospective Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has said that no political party can handle the situation alone, so with the formation of a coalition government, other parties, including the JUI, can play their full role.

'Injured' Imran Khan

Imran Khan had in the past proved to be a fierce opposition to the PPP and PML-N governments, holding sit-ins and rallies to suffocate their governments. Now that the PM has been ousted, he could be more injured and fatal.

He himself had said in recent days that he would be "more dangerous" if he returned to the streets.

The change of government does not seem to bring much political peace to Pakistan. Imran Khan had called for a peaceful protest from the people a day before the vote on the no-confidence motion, which was seen on April 10 in demonstrations across the country in support of the PTI.