What turns and contortions Pakistani politics will take between now and June 2018, when the current term of the National Assembly ends and fresh elections to parliament are due, is a moot question. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, a former petroleum minister and close aide of the ousted PM, has now stepped in his place. It is believed that he is keeping the seat warm till Nawaz’s younger brother and the current Punjab chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif, gets elected to the National Assembly and takes over. Shahbaz’s son, Hamza, is likely to replace his father as Punjab chief minister.