ISLAMABAD - After wading through weeks long political storm, Hamza Shehbaz on Saturday became the 21st chief minister of the Punjab province and third Sharif to take Punjab’s crown.
His ascension to power in the country’s biggest province and also the political heartland adds another feather to the cap of Sharif family. More amazingly, his rise to power came a few days after his father, Shehbaz Sharif, also came to power as prime minister of the country years after his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, was sworn in for an unprecedented third term as prime minister on 7 June 2013. No one had expected Hamza’s elevation on the political scene of the country till a few months back.
Hamza has been a member of the Punjab Assembly since August 2018. Previously, he was a member of the National Assembly from June 2008 to May 2018. He was re-elected to the National Assembly from constituency NA-119 (Lahore-II) in the 2013 general elections. He virtually acted as a deputy prime minister of Pakistan and deputy chief minister of Punjab in 2016, handling the political affairs and cutting his political teeth way before formal entrance into politics.
Hamza began his political career in October 1999 when Pervez Musharraf sent his father Shehbaz Sharif and the elder Sharif into exile. His life as he knew it changed dramatically when General Pervez Musharraf took power in a coup and sent his father Shahbaz Sharif, his uncle Nawaz Sharif and many of the rest of his family members into exile. More used to a life of privilege, he had then to deal with a range of issues concerning the Sharif family, for whom he was now the sole representative in Pakistan. “I learnt a lot, from having my family in power, to running around dealing with court cases,” Hamza recalled once. Now in his late 40s, Hamza has modelled himself on his uncle rather than his father. “My compatibility is greater with my uncle. He understands me well,” he says. To be more honest, Hamza had started his political activities at an early age and was also sent to jail during his college days. He is currently serving as a vice-president of PML-N.
Hamza’s priorities, he says, were education and health. His constituency got new or renovated women’s colleges in Gowalmandi and Choona Mandi, model hospitals in the vicinity of the Walled City, and restored historic sites. He says he was content with his performance. Hamza vigorously defends the PML-N’s record of the last five years: Danish Schools, the laptop scheme, the construction of 4,500 IT labs and setting up of a Rs10 billion Punjab Endowment Fund. He says his party has made education their top priority. Everyone deserves equal and quality opportunities, especially in education,” he says. He rejects the PTI’s criticisms of the PML-N’s education initiatives. The Metro Bus Service, he says, has eased the commute for residents of Lahore. There was no corruption in any projects, he adds.
Hamza was arrested on 11 June 2019 by the National Accountability Bureau over corruption charges. The arrest was made based on alleged money laundering and holding assets beyond means. In another scandal, Federal Investigation Agency revealed 28 benami accounts through which reportedly money laundering of Rs16.3 billion was made through 17,000 credit transactions. Hamza Shehbaz, as the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, spent most of the PTI government’s term in jail. Even when Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervez Elahi would issue his production orders, Hamza would huddle with his parliamentarians in the chamber and only speak briefly to the cameras outside.
He has been a great criticizer of former PM Imran Khan and PTI’s accountability process. “Do not scare me of jails, have faced Musharraf’s 10-year accountability,” Hamza told then PM Imran Khan while addressing party workers outside his residence, after the Lahore High Court (LHC) barred NAB from arresting him in 2019. Tehreek-i-Insaf’s slogan of building a ‘Naya Pakistan’ rings hollow, he had said. “The same faces we saw in the Musharraf era are now siding with Imran Khan. This is plain hypocrisy,” he said. For himself, Hamza’s ambition is to build a bigger identity outside the family name. “I don’t want to be remembered as Hamza Shahbaz Sharif. I want to be remembered as a person who did something for the people,” he desires.
His ascension to power in the country’s biggest province and also the political heartland adds another feather to the cap of Sharif family. More amazingly, his rise to power came a few days after his father, Shehbaz Sharif, also came to power as prime minister of the country years after his elder brother, Nawaz Sharif, was sworn in for an unprecedented third term as prime minister on 7 June 2013. No one had expected Hamza’s elevation on the political scene of the country till a few months back.
Hamza has been a member of the Punjab Assembly since August 2018. Previously, he was a member of the National Assembly from June 2008 to May 2018. He was re-elected to the National Assembly from constituency NA-119 (Lahore-II) in the 2013 general elections. He virtually acted as a deputy prime minister of Pakistan and deputy chief minister of Punjab in 2016, handling the political affairs and cutting his political teeth way before formal entrance into politics.
Hamza began his political career in October 1999 when Pervez Musharraf sent his father Shehbaz Sharif and the elder Sharif into exile. His life as he knew it changed dramatically when General Pervez Musharraf took power in a coup and sent his father Shahbaz Sharif, his uncle Nawaz Sharif and many of the rest of his family members into exile. More used to a life of privilege, he had then to deal with a range of issues concerning the Sharif family, for whom he was now the sole representative in Pakistan. “I learnt a lot, from having my family in power, to running around dealing with court cases,” Hamza recalled once. Now in his late 40s, Hamza has modelled himself on his uncle rather than his father. “My compatibility is greater with my uncle. He understands me well,” he says. To be more honest, Hamza had started his political activities at an early age and was also sent to jail during his college days. He is currently serving as a vice-president of PML-N.
Hamza’s priorities, he says, were education and health. His constituency got new or renovated women’s colleges in Gowalmandi and Choona Mandi, model hospitals in the vicinity of the Walled City, and restored historic sites. He says he was content with his performance. Hamza vigorously defends the PML-N’s record of the last five years: Danish Schools, the laptop scheme, the construction of 4,500 IT labs and setting up of a Rs10 billion Punjab Endowment Fund. He says his party has made education their top priority. Everyone deserves equal and quality opportunities, especially in education,” he says. He rejects the PTI’s criticisms of the PML-N’s education initiatives. The Metro Bus Service, he says, has eased the commute for residents of Lahore. There was no corruption in any projects, he adds.
Hamza was arrested on 11 June 2019 by the National Accountability Bureau over corruption charges. The arrest was made based on alleged money laundering and holding assets beyond means. In another scandal, Federal Investigation Agency revealed 28 benami accounts through which reportedly money laundering of Rs16.3 billion was made through 17,000 credit transactions. Hamza Shehbaz, as the leader of the opposition in the Punjab Assembly, spent most of the PTI government’s term in jail. Even when Speaker Punjab Assembly Chaudhry Pervez Elahi would issue his production orders, Hamza would huddle with his parliamentarians in the chamber and only speak briefly to the cameras outside.
He has been a great criticizer of former PM Imran Khan and PTI’s accountability process. “Do not scare me of jails, have faced Musharraf’s 10-year accountability,” Hamza told then PM Imran Khan while addressing party workers outside his residence, after the Lahore High Court (LHC) barred NAB from arresting him in 2019. Tehreek-i-Insaf’s slogan of building a ‘Naya Pakistan’ rings hollow, he had said. “The same faces we saw in the Musharraf era are now siding with Imran Khan. This is plain hypocrisy,” he said. For himself, Hamza’s ambition is to build a bigger identity outside the family name. “I don’t want to be remembered as Hamza Shahbaz Sharif. I want to be remembered as a person who did something for the people,” he desires.