Pakistan heads to the polls on Thursday as one of its leading candidates languishes in jail amid some reports of a lack of voter enthusiasm among the country’s roughly 128 million voters. .
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has been barred from running in parliamentary elections. Khan was ousted as the 22nd Prime Minister in April 2022 following a vote of no confidence. Khan, a former cricketer turned politician, is currently serving a prison sentence of more than 30 years. Three of Mr Khan’s four sentences were handed down last week. Mr. Khan has been imprisoned since August 2023.
Khan’s party has raised concerns about pre-poll fraud, a concern that voters appear to share. A recent Gallup poll revealed that 70% of Pakistanis have no confidence in the integrity of their elections. The current election cycle has been marred by violence and harassment, casting a long shadow over the electoral process.
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Supporters of Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan are taking part in an anti-government march in Gujranwala towards the capital Islamabad to call for early elections on November 1, 2022. (Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images)
44 political parties will compete for a share of the 266 seats in the National Assembly (lower house). The newly elected parliament will then choose the country’s next prime minister.
Most surveys list Mr Khan as the favored leader, but three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif is expected to return to power. Like Khan, Mr. Sharif is no stranger to military anger and litigation, which led to the premature end of his last three terms as prime minister. Sharif, 74, had his last prime ministership terminated in 2017 over corruption allegations.
As a politician, Khan is known for advocating liberal ideas while at the same time catering to Islamic principles and sentiments. During his tenure, Pakistan witnessed a significant rise in Islamist militancy and the consolidation of positions held by religious radicals.
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif waves to supporters during a rally in Lahore, Pakistan, on October 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed/File)
Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party took control of the country in 2022 under his brother’s leadership. At the time, Sharif was in exile abroad to avoid imprisonment in the country.
The PML-N primarily campaigns on Pakistan’s dire financial situation. The country faced a debt default crisis last June and is struggling with rising poverty levels. The International Monetary Fund has warned that inflation will hover around 24% this year.
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The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), the third major party and ally of the PML-N, is unlikely to garner enough support to secure the prime minister’s seat. However, PPP leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari still has a chance to be part of the coalition government under Sharif.
Syed Zulfikar Bukhari, a former cabinet minister and adviser to Mr. Khan, told Fox News Digital that Mr. Khan was involved in more than 190 cases. Buhari said all charges were politically motivated to keep Khan out of the election. Khan’s PTI party claims there was a coordinated effort to prevent participation in the election. Buhari said “severe” measures against the party include arrests, raids and internet disruptions or freezes.
Supporters of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, the political party of former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, held a rally on January 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
A government crackdown has resulted in numerous detentions and coercive tactics have forced PTI leaders to abandon the party. The UN’s main human rights body recently warned of a “pattern of harassment” of Mr Khan’s party members.
A spokesperson for the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Pakistani authorities to ensure free and fair elections. To maintain this standard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced it would deploy up to 92 international election observers. These observers include European Union member states and some foreign embassies.
Both the military and Pakistan’s interim government deny suppressing the party, despite complaints from Khan and the PTI of being marginalized and silenced. Nevertheless, PTI has made progress, including leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) in its strategy.
With Khan in isolation, the party has relied heavily on social media. The PTI party’s Instagram, X and TikTok accounts boast millions of followers, more than Pakistan’s two other major political parties combined. The party used generative AI to create Khan-approved content. Khan’s AI-generated preliminary speech was delivered at the first-ever virtual rally.
Buhari says the party’s strategic use of social media “seems to be working.” PTI is also conducting covert recruitment operations discreetly and quietly to avoid further crackdowns. PTI remains resolute in the face of adversity and “we are hopeful of an easy victory,” Buhari told FOX News Digital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
