Nawaz Sharif sworn in as Pakistan’s prime minister

Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistan’s prime minister yesterday, pledging to halt US drone strikes and tackle an entrenched energy shortage as the nation struggles to arrest its economic slump.

The 63-year-old returns to power more than 13 years after his second period as premier was cut short by a 1999 army coup. Winning almost half the seats contested in the May 11th general election, his Pakistan Muslim League-N party will be able to govern without a major coalition partner.

“I will not make any promises; the economy is in terrible shape,” Mr Sharif told parliament in Islamabad yesterday.

“I [and] my team will not sleep until we have resolved the problems. We want a Pakistan which is not known for corruption, poverty and violence but in fact for peace, good and clean government.”

The new administration will need to bridge a budget gap that is at the highest in almost two decades and spur economic growth from an annual average of 3 per cent as energy shortages shut the grid for up to 18 hours a day.

Nationwide attacks by Taliban insurgents have killed 40,000 people since Pakistan decided to support the US war in Afghanistan after 9/11.

“It is going to be tough for Sharif to turn things around,” said Raza Rumi, director of policy and programmes at the Islamabad-based Jinnah Institute. “Riding a popular wave, it is highly unlikely that Sharif would annoy the electorate, especially his support base comprising the business class.”

Mr Sharif won yesterday’s ballot for prime minister in the 342-member lower house of parliament, securing 244 votes. He has pledged to address chronic power outages, which are estimated to have sliced 2 percentage points off growth in the year to June 2012. – (Bloomberg)