Mint Explainer: Why an election upset in Pakistan could mean for India
Pakistan’s general election has taken an unexpected twist. Early trends indicate that Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) might have stolen a march on its political rivals in the polls, even with its leader, the flamboyant former World Cup-winning cricket captain, behind bars on various corruption charges. A PTI win would also present a setback to the country’s powerful military.
Mint explains the potential implications of a PTI win. On Thursday, 130 million Pakistani voters went to the polls to elect a new national government. The election had three major players.
The first was the Pakistan Muslim League (N), led by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif. A three-time prime minister, Sharif was widely expected to win a “managed" election with the support of Pakistan’s powerful military. However, the jailed former prime minister Imran Khan remained the most popular politician in the country.
Despite numerous impediments, early trends on Friday indicated that Khan’s PTI party was set to dominate its political rivals at the polls. For decades, Pakistan’s military has dominated the country’s politics directly or indirectly. It is widely understood that the military remains the most powerful actor in the country, wielding the ability to make and unmake governments.
Even Khan, analysts say, rode to power in 2018 as the military’s candidate of choice. However, this relationship later soured. During the latter part of Khan’s tenure as prime minister (2018-2022) he clashed with the military over top military appointments and control over foreign policy.
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