Pakistani ex-Premier Nawaz Sharif’s daughter takes over top provincial post. Rivals boycott her

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — The eldest daughter and close aide of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday became the country’s first-ever female chief minister in eastern Punjab province. Her rivals accused authorities of nepotism and boycotted the session of the provincial assembly.

Mariam Nawaz, 50, became chief minister in a 220-0 vote in her favor, beating out her rival Rana Aftab, nominated by the Sunni Ittehad Council and an ally of imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Opposition lawmakers supporting Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in parliament in 2022, boycotted the 371-member Punjab Assembly session Monday.

Nawaz was later sworn in at the provincial governor’s sprawling office in the eastern city of Lahore, her father seen next to her along with other family members during the televised ceremony.

Aftab said Nawaz’s election was premature as some seats in the assembly reserved for women and minorities have yet be announced. He said her appointment was “yet another case of nepotism as her family is known for picking relatives and friends to top positions whenever it comes into power.”

Earlier, one of Nawaz’s cousins, Hamza Shehbaz, had also served as chief minister in Punjab.

Nawaz thanked God during the ceremony and promised she would equally serve those who voted for her and those who didn’t. “The doors of my heart and office will remain open for the opposition as well,” she said.

Nawaz’s appointment was largely expected following the Feb. 8 parliamentary elections in which her father’s Pakistan Muslim League party, or PML-N, emerged as the largest party in the National Assembly or lower house of the parliament and in the Punjab Assembly.

The PML-N, which was initially trailing