INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Pakistan election: the main playersISLAMABAD: The Pakistan election on July 25 comes after a brief but
with its fragile institutions and turbulent past.The main players in the polls include leaders of the three main parties.Nawaz SharifSharif,
dubbed the Lion of Punjab, was thrice prime minister but has never completed a term, his latest ending when he was ousted by the Supreme
Court last year and banned from politics for life over corruption.The saga reached its peak earlier this month, when he was sentenced in
absentia to 10 years in prison
Sharif spectacularly returned to Pakistan from London a week later and was arrested
campaign.Imran KhanA former World Cup cricket hero turned politician, Khan has become the main opposition leader in recent years and makes
no secret of his ambition to become prime minister.Known mainly in the West as a talented sportsman and infamous playboy, he presents a
significantly more conservative and devout face to Muslim Pakistan.His Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, founded in 1996, has governed
northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province but long had to settle for a handful of seats nationally
remains uncertain.Critics consider him unfit for office
charismatic brother, Shahbaz became president of the PML-N after his elder sibling was ousted, and is theoretically leading the party into
anointed political heir, daughter Maryam, who has also been jailed for corruption
There has long been speculation that the two brothers have clashed over their political differences, but they have never corroborated the
Bilawal Bhutto ZardariHis mother Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to lead a Muslim country, was assassinated in 2007
His grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, also a prime minister of Pakistan, was hanged in 1979
almost nil -- though he could become kingmaker by joining forces with the PML-N or PTI, if either fail to win an outright majority.The task
would be difficult for the scion of a family who once dominated Pakistani politics but whose party is now in decline, even challenged in
their stronghold in Sindh province.His father, Asif Ali Zardari, nicknamed "Mr 10 percent" because of numerous accusations of corruption,
has previously been president of Pakistan
There is speculation he could seek the post again -- or demand other concessions -- in any coalition deal.
