Pakistan will hold a national election on Thursday to elect a new government, with multiple crises plaguing the nuclear-armed, South Asian nation of 241 million.
The vote comes amid a crackdown on former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), and a fluid political climate.
Forty-four political parties are vying for a share of the 266 seats that are up for grabs in the National Assembly, or the lower house of parliament, with an additional 70 seats reserved for women and minorities.
Pakistani politics are dominated by three parties: the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), reports Arab News.
The top contender is PML-N and on its ballot are two former prime ministers, Nawaz Sharif and his younger brother Shehbaz Sharif.
Their ally the PPP, led by Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, a member of a political dynasty, has a power base in the country’s south. Though it’s unlikely to get enough votes to get him the premiership, he could still be part of a Sharif-led coalition government.
Smaller, religious political parties that appeal to a section of the conservative Muslim country have no chance of getting a majority but could still be part of a coalition government. The Pakistani military is not on the ballot but is the real power behind the scenes — it has ruled the nation for half of its history and calls the shots in most government decisions.
The following list prepared of some key events over the last few years led up to Pakistan's parliamentary election on Thursday:
July 25, 2018 — Pakistanis vote for a new government in an election marred by violence and allegations of fraud.
July 26, 2018 — Former cricket star Imran Khan wins the polls but has to seek out allies to form a coalition. A few weeks later, lawmakers elect him as the country’s prime minister.
February 26, 2019 — Tensions escalate sharply in the region after India launched an airstrike inside Pakistan that New Delhi said targeted a terrorist training camp. Pakistan shot down two Indian warplanes and captured a pilot in retaliation.
August 15, 2021 — The Taliban seize power of Afghanistan during the final weeks of the US and NATO troop withdrawal from the country after a costly two-decade war. Afghans, fearing for the future, race to the airport, one of the last routes out of Afghanistan, and also to the border crossings into Pakistan.
April 9, 2022 — Pakistan’s political opposition topples Imran Khan in a no-confidence vote in parliament. The opposition forms a new government, with Shehbaz Sharif, a brother of the disgraced former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, sworn in days later.
July 5, 2022 — Heavy rains lash Pakistan for weeks on end, destroying homes, schools and other buildings and infrastructure. The summer becomes a time of unprecedented deluges and flash flooding that kill more than 1,700 people and cause billions of dollars in damage.
November 3, 2022 — Imran Khan is wounded in a shooting at a rally in the eastern city of Lahore, an attack his party calls an assassination attempt. One of Khan's supporters is killed and nine people were hurt. The gunman was immediately arrested, and police later said he had acted alone.
November 28, 2022 — The Pakistani Taliban break off a cease-fire with the government, and their fighters resume attacks across the country, mainly targeting the country's security forces.
November 29, 2022 — The new army chief and former spymaster Gen. Asim Munir takes charge of the military, replacing General Qamar Javed Bajwa, who retired from the post after a six-year term.
January 30, 2023 — A suicide bomber disguised in a police uniform kills at least 100 people at a mosque inside a high-security government and police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar.
May 9, 2023 — Imran Khan is arrested and dragged from court where he arrived to face charges in multiple graft cases. His detention sparks days of violent demonstrations by angry supporters.
July 12, 2023 — The International Monetary Fund approves a much-awaited $3 billion bailout deal, a move that saves Pakistan from defaulting on its debt repayments.
August 5, 2023 — Imran Khan is sentenced to three years in prison after a court convicted him of corruption, the first sentence in more than 150 legal cases against him. He is moved to the high-security Attock Prison, in eastern Punjab province, notorious for harsh conditions.
August 9, 2023 — Pakistan’s president dissolves the National Assembly, or lower house of parliament, a first step in the countdown to the upcoming general election.
September 26, 2023 — Imran Khan is moved from Attock Prison to Adiala Prison in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad.
October 4, 2023 — Pakistan announces a major crackdown on foreigners living in the country illegally, including around 1.7 million Afghans. The policy angers Afghanistan's Taliban-led government and draws widespread condemnation from aid agencies, rights groups, and the United Nations.
October 21, 2023 — Three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif returns to Pakistan after four years in self-imposed exile abroad to avoid serving prison sentences on corruption charges. His conviction and sentences are overturned on appeal after his return.
November 2, 2023 — Pakistan’s election oversight body postpones parliamentary elections for a second time, saying the vote, originally expected in November and then scheduled for the last week of January, would instead take place on February 8.
January 8, 2024 — The Supreme Court scraps a lifetime ban on politicians with criminal convictions from contesting elections, clearing the way for Nawaz Sharif to seek a fourth term in office. The ruling says convicted politicians would be barred from running only for five years.
January 16 — Iran launches airstrikes in Pakistan targeting what it described as bases for a Sunni militant group. Pakistan calls the attack an “unprovoked violation” of its airspace and retaliates two days later in a significant escalation in fraught relations between the neighbours.
January 30 — Imran Khan is sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of leaking state secrets by waving a confidential document during a political rally after his ouster.
January 31 — Khan and his wife, Bushra Bibi, are sentenced to 14-year terms for corruption on charges of retaining and selling state gifts in violation of government rules when he was in power.
February 3 — Khan and his wife are sentenced to seven years on charges they violated the country's marriage law when they wed in 2018. It's the fourth sentence so far for Khan and the second for his wife.
