The decision was taken during a Cabinet meeting as part of the government's austerity policies, aimed at curbing unnecessary expenditures, according to a press release by the PM Office.

An official handout issued after the meeting said the three-time former prime minister issued directions to ministers and officials regarding different infrastructure projects, including the underground train and metro bus, farmers’ plight, electric bikes for students and Ramzan relief package.

Shehbaz Sharif was officially sworn in during a ceremony held at the presidential office in Islamabad on Monday, despite protests from lawmakers aligned with jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan. 

Shehbaz, who is the joint candidate of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), has already submitted his nomination.

A quirk of fate following the poor show in the electoral battle led Nawaz, 74, the supremo of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party to abandon his claim to the prime minister's position to his younger brother Shehbaz, 72.

Maryam, the 50-year-old senior vice president of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and daughter of three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on Monday made history by becoming the first-ever woman chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province, a development described by her party as a “giant leap” for the country.

"The PPP and PML-N have achieved the required number, and [now] we are in a position to form the government," Bhutto-Zardari was quoted as saying by Geo News.

After a three-hour deliberation on Monday, the negotiations hit a snag prompting a temporary halt, with both PML-N and PPP agreeing to reconvene at 10 pm on Monday. However, the meeting did not take place.

The source said that since Shehbaz Sharif, 72, was a favourite of the military, Nawaz Sharif had to be sidelined by one excuse or another at the end of the day.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf has claimed that its candidates won over 150 seats and that the military assisted Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz had engaged in rigging of the ballots to emerge victorious.

The clash between Khan's PTI and the military establishment comes after the party claimed a landslide victory in Pakistan's general elections on February 8. “Police arrested winning independent candidates endorsed by the PTI and raided their residences across Punjab,” said party sources.

What has characterised Shehbaz's political trajectory thus far, and why has he been designated as the PM candidate over his more seasoned brother, Nawaz?