"Shocked At The Way Imran Khan...": Rival Leader Who May Be Next Pak PM

Shehbaz Sharif, who is likely to replace Prime Minister Imran Khan, on Friday, lambasted him for endangering the global interest of Pakistan.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif on Friday in a tweet said that he was "shocked at the way Imran Khan has endangered the global interests of the country."

Shocked at the way Imran Khan has endangered the global interests of the country. His recurring praise for Modi's foreign policy is an insult to the sacrifices of valient Kashmiris braving Hindutva. Among other things, the damage done to our foreign policy is incalculable.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) April 1, 2022

He also said that "Among other things, the damage done to our foreign policy is incalculable."

In an address to the nation on Thursday, Imran Khan made allegations regarding Washington's role in an alleged "foreign conspiracy" to oust him from power.

Mr Khan had also bashed US for "not reciprocating" Pakistan's contribution to "war against terror" in Afghanistan.

Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday said Imran Khan "has now lost majority" in the National Assembly and Leader of the Opposition Shahbaz Sharif will soon become the Prime Minister of the country.

The PPP chairman said Shehbaz Sharif has challenged the Pakistan Prime Minister to resign from office. "He (Imran Khan) has no option left. He can either resign or get dismissed via no-confidence," Bilawal Bhutto.

Earlier on Tuesday, the ruling PTI got another shock as MQM-P, an ally of the government, decided to side with the opposition and support them in the no-confidence motion against Imran Khan.

The MQM-P has seven seats in the National Assembly and after its decision to part ways with the government, the opposition has support of 177 MNAs, five more than the 172 required to gain a majority.

The relationship between US and Pakistan has been on the edge since the US withdrew from Afghanistan last summer.

The increasing alignment between China and Pakistan also casts a shadow over US policy towards Pakistan.

Mr Khan had also said that many Pakistanis lost their lives in the fight against terror, but the US never thanked them. "In fact, the US blamed them for its failure in Afghanistan," Mr Khan said.

Meanwhile, Murtaza Ali Shah, a reporter for GEO News and The News International mocked Imran Khan's address to the nation.

He said that Mr Khan's address was about "I, Me, Myself", adding that Mr Khan mentioned himself 213 times during 45 minutes long speech.

"Imran Khan talked about 'I, Me, Myself, Imran Khan' 213 times during 45 minutes long speech: it's all about me," tweeted Mr Shah.

Imran had talked about his entering into politics in the 1990s following a successful cricket career.

"I entered politics because I came to the conclusion that Pakistan can never be the country that Allama Iqbal dreamt of and Quaid-e-Azam struggled for even in poor health," he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)