Shehbaz Sharif has resigned as the PML-N president, sources said on Monday, two weeks after senior party leaders urged party supremo Nawaz Sharif to take up the party’s reins.

The new president would be elected in the party’s general council meeting on May 28.

Shehbaz was elected the PML-N president unopposed at a convention of the party’s General Council on March 13, 2018.

He preceded his brother Nawaz, who was removed as party president by the Supreme Court but was later rechristened as the party’s “leader for life”.

“I believe Nawaz Sharif is the only Pakistani politician and leader that can be called Jinnah’s political heir,” he told a roaring crowd chanting party slogans. “We are lucky to have been blessed with a Quaid [leader] like Nawaz Sharif.”

Last month, Rana Sanaullah, the adviser to the prime minister on political and public affairs, said that senior leaders of the party have urged PML-N supremo Nawaz Sharif to take over the party’s presidency.

“We have hope and believe that his [Nawaz Sharif] passionate leadership will become more popular among the masses,” Sanaullah said at a press conference in Lahore on April 26, 2024.

When asked, he had said that a “quaid” position was created for Nawaz after he was “forcefully” removed from the party in 2017. He added that only Nawaz’s narrative would be followed whether it was about reconciliation or resistance.

In response to a question, he said that the designation of “quaid” was created in the party’s constitution for respect and the operational post was with the president.

“In the past, Shehbaz Sharif may not have taken any decision without his approval. We want to redress the humiliation of 2017.