How Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was persuaded for Premiership?

KARACHI: The nomination of Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was not as smooth as considered generally and an eyewitness account of a meeting that deliberated upon matter tells a different story.

Abbasi was elected the 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan securing 221 votes after Nawaz Sharif was disqualified by the Supreme Court in Panama leaks case on 28th July.

The ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) had nominated the former petroleum minister and veteran politician Abbasi as its candidate for the prime slot.

According to a report in Weekly Akhbar-e-Jehan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was persuaded for premiership by Nawaz Sharif, Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif, former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, senior party leaders Pervaiz Rashid, Khawaja Saad Rafique and others.

The report said Nawaz Sharif chaired a high-level consultative meeting at the PM House of senior PML-N leaders 24 hours after the apex court ousted him.

In the meeting former prime minister had announced the name of Khaqan Abbasi, a longtime aide who also had served prison with him, to succeed as Premier.

According to an insider’s account, initially Abbasi refused to accept the slot, saying, “I am grateful to you for your trust, you reposed in me but I won’t be PM. I can’t sit on the seat even for a single day from where you were deposed. I don’t want to become the Prime Minister whether it is interim or permanent.”

To this, Shahbaz Sharif and Chaudhry Nisar responded by saying don’t do that, Pervaiz Rasheed, Kh Saad Rafique, Mushahidullah Khan and other leaders present in the meeting tried hard to convince Abbasi to accept the Premiership.

Ch Nisar, about whom many believe, was one of the candidates or he wished to be, stood up and congratulated Abbasi warmly.

Following this, finally Nawaz Sharif held the hand of Khaqan Abbasi and hugged him. This way, he agreed to become the Prime Minister.

Later, all the party members congratulated Abbasi.

Abbasi is the former federal minister for petroleum and natural resources, and a businessman who launched the country´s most successful private airline.

He is considered highly intelligent and a long-time loyalist of Nawaz Sharif.

Educated in the US at George Washington University, he was born in Karachi but is a member of the National Assembly from Murree.

Abbasi worked in the US and Saudi Arabia as an electrical engineer before joining politics after his father, a minister in General Zia´s government, was killed when an ammunition dump exploded in Rawalpindi in 1988.

He was the chairman of national flag carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) from 1997 to 1999, until General Pervez Musharraf overthrew Sharif´s second government.

Abbasi was arrested after the coup and imprisoned for two years before being released.

In 2003, he setup a private airline Air Blue, the country´s most successful private airline and challenger to PIA.