ISLAMABAD Shahbaz Sharif, the chief minister of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, is expected to replace his ousted elder brother as prime minister in a transition that could calm investor jitters ahead of a scheduled general election in 2018.
The younger Sharif was tapped for the position by his brother and will be formally nominated as prime minister by the second half of September, assuming he wins the National Assembly seat that Nawaz Sharif vacated on July 28. The former prime minister was forced to step down after the Supreme Court ruled that he was disqualified from holding public office because he failed to fully disclose his overseas financial assets. According to the court, he had failed to meet the constitution's requirement that elected officials should be "honest and upright."
