#Title

PAKISTAN ELECTION

Main players in high-stakes polls
AFP, Islamabad
Pakistan goes to the polls on Thursday following a lacklustre election campaign overshadowed by court battles and accusations by rights groups that the vote is not being held on a level playing field. Here is a look at the main players:
NAWAZ SHARIF
Dubbed the “Lion of Punjab”, Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) is expected to win enough seats to govern alone or form a ruling coalition, allowing him to become prime minister for a fourth time. He has never completed a full term, however, and between stints in power or in the opposition has spent years in jail or in exile abroad after being convicted in multiple graft cases.
He is seen as a fiscal conservative, champion of economic liberalisation and free markets, and also keen on improving ties with arch-foe India.
THE MILITARY
The army, considered the country’s strongest institution, has ruled Pakistan for roughly half its nearly 76-year history, and is widely believed to control foreign and defence policy even during periods of civilian rule.
They are also the guardians of the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile since Pakistan became an atomic power in 1998, weeks after India announced the same.
Political parties and their leaders rise and fall with the backing of the generals, although the army routinely denies interfering in elections.
The military is the country’s biggest landowner, its chief of staff sits on the Special Investment Facilitation Council -- the country’s top economic decision-making body -- and the boards of charities, sporting associations, state enterprises and parastatals are dominated by retired officers.
IMRAN KHAN
A former prime minister booted from office by a vote of no confidence in April 2022, Khan will sit out this election due to a series of jail sentences, including 14 years for graft, 10 for treason and seven for what the court dubbed an illegal marriage under Islamic law. He has also been disqualified from politics for a decade.
His influence will still loom large, however, and despite being severely hamstrung by the military establishment his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party could still put in a good showing this week.
SHEHBAZ SHARIF
Nawaz’s younger and less charismatic brother, Shehbaz became prime minister in 2022 after Khan was booted out in a National Assembly vote of no confidence.Analysts say he would not make any important decision without first consulting his brother -- exiled in London to escape a jail sentence -- but they are known to disagree on some issues, including the military. Observers suggest he will be given a senior role in any government his brother may form -- likely in charge of a key planning ministry.
BILAWAL BHUTTO-ZARDARI
Bhutto-Zardari’s family were once centre-stage in Pakistan’s politics, their fortunes rising and falling in a Shakespearean saga of tragedy and power.
He is the son of Benazir Bhutto, the world’s first Muslim woman leader, who was twice elected prime minister and assassinated in 2007. The floppy-haired 35-year-old enters Thursday’s election with his first experience of statesmanship, having served as foreign minister in the coalition that ousted Khan in 2022.