Pakistan is currently facing a political upheaval and economic crisis as a result of the 2022 removal of previous Prime Minister Imran Khan. This Thursday is the country’s national election. Here are some details about the major political players vying for control of the 241 million-person nuclear-armed country.
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Nawaz Sharif
After putting an end to a protracted conflict with the nation’s formidable military, Nawaz Sharif, the former prime minister of Pakistan, is regarded as the front-runner for the presidency of the nation, according to analysts.
After running for office in the previous election from a jail cell, the 74-year-old leader from the power source Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party and three-time earlier prime minister returned to the UK late last year from a four-year internalized exile.
Courts overturned his convictions for corruption, which he disputes, and he was banned from politics for life. According to his party, he now hopes to become prime minister four times in order to turn around the nation’s faltering economy and control skyrocketing inflation. However, there are concerns about his health and readiness to form a government in the event that his party is unable to secure a majority and must form an alliance.
Maryam Nawaz Sharif
Her father has positioned her as Nawaz’s political heir apparent, and she holds a prominent position within the PML-N party. She is the party’s senior vice president.
In the run-up to the 2018 elections, Maryam, 50, and her father were imprisoned on corruption-related charges that were eventually dropped. Although she has never held public office, she supported her father during his self-imposed exile by organizing numerous rallies and recently joined him on the campaign trail. When it comes to PML-N political events, analysts have observed that she has spoken first rather than Nawaz.
Shehbaz Sharif
The younger sibling of Nawaz, he oversaw a coalition government after Imran Khan was removed from office in 2022 for sixteen months. In August, a caretaker government switched over in anticipation of the next national elections, and parliament was dissolved.
The 72-year-old Shehbaz Sharif, who had previously held the position of chief minister of the Punjab province, the most populous province in Pakistan, prevented a financial crisis for his country last year by reaching an agreement with the IMF following shaky and protracted talks for yet another bailout package.
It’s unclear what function Shehbaz will play with his older brother back in Pakistan, but he is thought to be closer to the country’s powerful armed forces than Nawaz and has long served as a go-between, which will be important if his party wins and takes power.
Imran Khan
The troubled former prime minister, who was jailed since August and was given multi-year bans from politics due to numerous charges of corruption, is enjoying the election season in a cell.
The former cricket star, who had a falling out with the nation’s powerful generals prior to a vote of no-confidence in 2022, has denied any wrongdoing and placed the blame on them. Politics meddling is denied by the military.
However, Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf team has attempted to use social media and surreptitious canvassing to run an unconventional election campaign. After the election commission headed that the party itself was unable to compete and removed its well-known cricket bat symbol, they enrolled party members as independents.
According to analysts, Khan, 71, is still well-liked and candidates from his party might garner some support, but probably not enough to establish a government. The temptation to leave Khan’s side and support whoever forms the government will be strong, even though he has stated that his independent candidates will not support any other party. The longest sentence he received was 14 years in prison, according to his attorneys, and he is appealing.
Bhutto Zardari Bilawal
Former PM Benazir Bhutto was murdered in 2007 while Bhutto Zardari proved a teenager, and his son Bilawal Bhutto Zardari served as the nation’s foreign minister till a caretaker government was formed late last year. From 2008 to 2013, Asif Ali Zardari, his father, served as Pakistan’s president.
The 35-year-old Bhutto Zardari has been leading one of the most well-known campaigns, travelling the nation and claiming to be concentrating on the issues facing the nation’s large youth population and climate change, which has wreaked havoc in his home province of Sindh in the south. With no party predicted to secure the greatest number of positions in the nation’s parliament, his party might act as kingmaker even though it is not predicted to win by a wide margin.
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