Former prime minister and former senior Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz member Shahid Khaqan Abbasi formally launched his long-awaited political party, Awam Pakistan, on Saturday.
The party has long been rumoured since Abbasi apparently fell out with the PML-N leadership last year.
The launch in Islamabad on Saturday saw key members of the new party in attendance, including former governor Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, former federal health minister Dr Zafar Mirza, former Punjab provincial minister Zaeem Qadri, and others.
During the event, it was disclosed that the party had completed its constitution and held intra-party elections on June 19. Abbasi was elected as the party's convener, and former federal finance minister Miftah Ismail was elected as secretary.
The party's slogan, "Badlenge Nizam" (We will change the system), was also unveiled, along with its green and blue logo and flag.
The newly launched party aims to drive economic prosperity by extending tax concessions to the middle-income and salaried classes while reducing annual government expenditures. The party's economic reform agenda includes limiting government involvement, encouraging the private sector, and privatising public organisations to stimulate growth.
The new party, which Ismail had clarified in a recent media interview, had neither received nor sought support from the influential establishment forces of the country.
In the first stage, the party said it would aim to organise at the grassroots level.