The declaration was met with loud protests from the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party backed by Khan. The lawmakers called for Khan’s release and shouted slogans alleging Sharif had come to power through electoral rigging.

Pakistan ex-PM Nawaz Sharif’s daughter is nation’s first woman to govern province

The February 8 election was marred by a mobile internet shutdown, arrests and violence in its build-up, and the unusually delayed results triggered accusations that the vote was rigged.

Sharif returned to the role he held until August, when parliament was dissolved ahead of the elections and a caretaker government took over. No single party won a majority.

Sharif, 72, is the younger brother of three-time leader Nawaz Sharif, who spearheaded their Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party’s election campaign.

Candidates backed by Khan gained the most seats but the PML-N and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) agreed to form a coalition government, which enabled Shehbaz Sharif to be elected as prime minister as his brother stepped aside.

In his previous term, Sharif’s government was able to negotiate a critical International Monetary Fund (IMF) deal, but the process was mired in challenges, and measures required by the agreement - which expires in April - have contributed to rising prices and added pressure on poor and middle class households.

The new government will have to immediately start talks with the IMF for the next agreement to shore up the country’s economy, while also dealing with growing discontent over deepening poverty.

The government will also have to grapple with ongoing challenges from Khan’s supporters.

Pakistan continues to be enmeshed in economic crisis with inflation remaining high, hovering around 30 per cent, and economic growth slowing to around 2 per cent. February inflation dipped slightly to 23.1 per cent from a year earlier, in part due to a high base effect.

While Sharif will need to emulate his feat of securing a short-term IMF bailout needed to keep Pakistan on a narrow path to recovery, his main role will be to maintain ties with the military, which has directly or indirectly dominated Pakistan since independence.

Unlike his elder brother, who has had a rocky relationship with the military in all his three terms, the younger Sharif is considered more acceptable and compliant by the generals, analysts say.

Why Pakistan’s ‘unwieldy’ new coalition won’t faze China and the IMF

For several years, the military has denied it interferes in politics. But it has in the past directly intervened to topple civilian governments three times, and no prime minister has finished a full five-year term since independence in 1947.

Privatising some lumbering state giants, including the national airline, and securing foreign investment will also be key to ease the economic crisis. The Sharifs have close ties with rulers in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which could help in securing investments in several projects Pakistan has lately showcased for sale.

Although defence and key foreign policy decisions are largely influenced by the military, Sharif will have to juggle relations with the United States and China, both major allies. He is also faced with dealing with fraying ties with three of Pakistan’s four neighbours, India, Iran and Afghanistan.