On Thursday, Pakistan is set to have its national elections amidst an economic crisis and political uncertainty that followed the removal of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in 2022, according to Reuters.
The three-time former prime minister of Pakistan and chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party, Nawaz Sharif, returned from a four-year exile in the UK last year. His lifetime ban from politics was overturned, and he is aiming to revive the struggling economy if elected for a fourth time.
His daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, has also been influential in the PML-N party, despite never having held office, according to Reuters. She was jailed on corruption charges, which were later overturned. She has taken a leading role in PML-N political gatherings and has been presented by her father as his political heir apparent.
Nawaz Sharif’s younger brother Shehbaz Sharif led a coalition government following the ouster of Imran Khan until parliament was dissolved and a caretaker government took over last year. He played a crucial role in averting a financial crisis and is believed to be closer to Pakistan’s military than Nawaz.
Imran Khan, the embattled former prime minister who is currently in jail, is popular but may not receive enough votes to form a government, according to Reuters. Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party conducted an unorthodox campaign using social media and covert canvassing after the party itself was stripped of its famous cricket bat symbol.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, has been campaigning on addressing the impacts of climate change and focusing on the country’s youth population. His party is not expected to win outright but could play a key role in the parliament.
(Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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