In a surprising move, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) vice chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi refused to shake hands with Prime Minister-elect Shahid Khaqan Abbasi upon his election as new leader of the House on Tuesday.
After his election as new Leader of the House in National Assembly, the Prime Minister-elect Abbasi went to the opposition benches to thank them on participation in the voting process. But the Prime Minister-elect got a snub from PTI's Shah Mehmood Qureshi who refused to shake hands with him. Abbasi even tugged him from his shirt to grab Qureshi's attention who turned on but quickly passed on by making hand gesture and uttering some words.
Later talking to the media, Qureshi admitted to have refused a handshake with the Prime Minister-elect, saying he did not shake hands with him because he was representing someone who had been disqualified by the Supreme Court. This, he said, he did to register a 'silent' protest.
The National Assembly elected Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) nominee Shahid Khaqan Abbasi as the new Prime Minister with a total of 221 votes. While his rival candidates, PPP's Syed Naveed Qamar got 47, PTI's nominee Sheikh Rashid Ahmad 33 and Jamaat-e-Islami's Sahibzada Tariqullah got only four votes.