Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif are expected to play a key role in the polls.
Islamabad:
Pakistan goes to the polls on Thursday after a lackluster election campaign clouded by court battles and accusations from human rights groups that the vote was not conducted on a level playing field.
Here are the major players:
Nawaz Sharif
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), known as the “Lion of Punjab,” is expected to win enough seats to govern alone or form a governing coalition, making him prime minister for a fourth time.
However, he never served a full term, spending years in prison either in power or in opposition, or in exile after being convicted in multiple corruption cases.
The 74-year-old is one of the richest men in the United States. His family made its fortune in the steel industry and has shared power for decades.
Often draped in a Gucci scarf, he is admired by supporters for his approachable, “land man” demeanor.
He is seen as a fiscal conservative, a champion of economic liberalization and free markets, and is also keen to improve relations with old enemy India.
army
The military, considered the country’s most powerful institution, has ruled Pakistan for about half of its nearly 76-year history and is widely seen as controlling foreign and defense policy even during periods of civilian rule.
They are also the guardians of the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile since 1998, when Pakistan became an atomic state (just weeks after India announced this).
According to the Institute for Strategic Studies, the military has nearly 1.5 million active-duty and reservist personnel, ranking 10th in the world.
Parties and their leaders have risen and fallen with the support of the generals, although the military has consistently denied interfering in elections.
The army is the country’s largest landowner, its chief of staff is a member of the Special Investment Promotion Council, the country’s top economic decision-making body, and the boards of charities, sports associations, state-owned enterprises and parastatals are all dominated by retired military officers.
Imran Khan
A former prime minister, Khan, who was ousted in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, will miss the election as he is sentenced to a series of prison terms, including 14 years for corruption and 10 for treason. He was sentenced to 7 years in prison for what the court called an illegal marriage under Sharia law. He was also disqualified from politics for ten years.
However, his influence remains strong and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is likely to perform well this week despite being severely weakened by the military establishment.
It would be easy to write off the political career of the charismatic former international cricketer, but Khan came from an unlikely position to win as captain of his country, and Pakistan has seen dozens of politicians sentenced to lengthy prison terms – but when they come back But it was overturned in favor.
Khan enjoyed real popular support when he became prime minister in 2018, but he has had a huge falling out with the military establishment that nurtured his rise.
He then launched a dangerous and unprecedented campaign against the army, but the final straw last May came when his supporters smashed the headquarters of an army commander following his first arrest. The last straw.
Shehbaz Sharif
Nawaz’s younger brother, the less charismatic Shehbaz, became prime minister in 2022 after Khan was ousted in a no-confidence vote in the National Assembly.
Analysts say he will not make any major decisions without first consulting his brother, who is in exile in London to escape prison, but they are known to disagree on a number of issues, including military matters.
A workaholic who usually wears a safari suit, Shehbaz has been at the forefront of the lackluster Muslim League-Northern campaign, often leading rallies in his brother’s absence.
Observers say he will take a senior role in any government his brother might form – possibly in charge of a key planning department.
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari
The Bhutto-Zardari family was once center stage in Pakistani politics, their fortunes rising and falling in a Shakespearean tale of tragedy and power.
He is the son of the world’s first Muslim female leader, Benazir Bhutto, who was twice elected prime minister and assassinated in 2007. His grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also prime minister, was ousted in a coup and executed in 1979.
His father, Asif Ali Zardari, was the former president of Pakistan and was nicknamed “Mr. 10%” by many in Pakistan due to multiple corruption accusations.
The loose-haired 35-year-old, who gained his first experience as a politician in Thursday’s election, served as foreign minister in the coalition that ousted Khan in 2022.
While his Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is unlikely to win enough support to govern alone, their dominance in the southern province of Sindh gives them leverage over anyone seeking to form a coalition.
