Shahbaz Sharif - Second Term As Chief Minister

Second Term As Chief Minister

On 8 June 2008, Shahbaz Sharif was elected as Chief Minister of Punjab, receiving 265 votes from the members of the 371-seat provincial assembly. He was the only candidate, and the Pakistan Muslim League-Q boycotted the vote. Speaking after his election, he called on Musharraf to resign. He won a vote of confidence on 9 June, receiving 266 votes.

His second term as Chief Minister lasted until 25 February 2009, when a three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, headed by Justice Moosa K. Leghari, declared him ineligible to contest elections, took away his seat in the Punjab Assembly, and thereby removed him from office. On 31 March 2009, a five-member larger bench of the Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision of the apex court, in which Mian Nawaz Sharif and Shahbaz Sharif were disqualified from holding public office. As a result, Shahbaz Sharif returned to office as Chief Minister.

Some of the major projects initiated by Shahbaz Sharif during his second tern include

• Lahore Metro Bus System A 32 km Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system from Kahna to Shahadra,
• Danish Schools is a free education project to provide top class education to the less fortunate in Pakistan
• Ashiana Housing Schemes Affordable Housing for low income families with modern facilities in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala & other cities of Punjab.
• e-Youth Initiative to provide free laptops to 100 thousand brilliant students studying at public sector colleges & universities and high achievers of the Boards of Punjab in Matriculation Examinations
• Foresic Science Laboratory at Lahore Establishing of Punjab Forensic Science Agency and a state of the art forensic lab
• Punjab Youth Internship Program A program to equip 50,000 unemployed youth with productive skills in Punjab. A monthly stipend of Rs 10,000 will be paid to the interns.
• Plan9 - Tech Incubator A program designed to accelerate the successful development of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services
• Lahore Waste Management Company An Integrated Solid Waste Management project with collaboration of Turkish contractors for the city of Lahore to serve as a model for other areas in Punjab.
• The Punjab Model of Proactive Governance A system to proactively seek feedback from consumers of government services using call centers, text messages and phone calls. The project has been supported and funded by the World Bank.

Shahbaz Sharif is well respected internationally including China, Germany and Turkey. Their government functionaries are impressed by his governance of the Punjab province. He is acknowledged even by his opponents as an outstanding administrator for his role in making Punjab a model of good governance.