Pakistan (MNN) — Yesterday, Shehbaz Sharif was selected as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. A no-confidence vote on Saturday removed Imran Khan from the position. All of Khan’s allies in Parliament resigned after the vote.
This comes after Pakistan’s Supreme Court prevented Khan from dissolving parliament.
Protests
Meanwhile, protests have erupted across the country. Khan claimed his removal was an American-funded conspiracy. Nehemiah with FMI says his supporters have taken up the narrative. “This is the very first time in Pakistan’s history that public Pakistani people, the common man, are chanting and protesting in the streets. They are chanting against the Americans. They are chanting against the Pakistan military establishment.”
Khan enjoys a lot of popularity in Pakistan, especially among the youth. He played cricket for Pakistan’s national team, and even led them to a World Cup victory in 1992. Nehemiah says, “There’s a craze about cricket in Pakistan. He also opened a cancer hospital and research center, the first of its kind in South Asia.”
Pakistani Christians
Sharif leads the Pakistan Muslim League, which has held power in the country several times. Nehemiah says Pakistani Christians have a real reason for concern. “All the attacks that have happened in Pakistan against Christians, (if we talk about the burning off Christian colonies or the killing of Christians themselves) all these sad and tragic incidents happened during Muslim League rule in Pakistan.”
Nehemiah says former Muslim League governments even received funds from Osama Bin Laden. The party wants to impose Sharia law in the country. Nehemiah says, “When I talk to different people in Pakistan, different church leaders or even common Christians, they are very afraid.”
Ask God to protect Pakistani Christians from violence.
The header photo shows Shehbaz Sharif in 2017. (Photo courtesy of Shehbaz Sharif, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)