Nawaz Sharif... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf...
waves to his supporters at a party office in Lahore, Pakistain on Saturday. Sharif declared victory following a historic election marred by violence Saturday, as unofficial, partial vote counts showed his party with an overwhelming lead. Photo: AP
Pakistain's former prime minister Nawaz Sharif looked set Sunday to return to power for a third term, with an overwhelming election tally that just weeks ago seemed out of reach for a man who had been ousted by a coup and was exiled abroad before clawing his way back as an opposition leader.
As unofficial returns continued to roll in Sunday morning, state TV estimates did not show whether Sharif would attain the majority needed to govern outright or if he would need to form a coalition government.
But the margin of victory over the closest competitors -- a party headed by former cricket star Imran Khan
... aka
Taliban Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree...
and the outgoing Pakistain People's Party -- gave his party a clear mandate to guide the country of 180-million over the next five years.
Supporters danced in the streets overnight in his hometown of Lahore, Pakistain's second largest city and the picturesque provincial capital of Punjab province.
The election was marred by violence in the southern port city of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, the northwest and in the southwestern province of Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
. At least 29 people died in election-related attacks, but people still came out in droves. Election officials said the turnout was close to 60 percent, easily eclipsing the 44 percent of voters who came to the polls in 2008.
Sharif fended off a strong challenge from Khan's Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf
...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is
Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations....
party. Khan, who led the country to victory in the 1992 cricket World Cup, had tapped into the frustrations of many Pak youths fed up with the country's traditional politicians.
But in the end Sharif and his Pakistain Musselmen League-N party managed a return to power. Even if he were to form a coalition government, the seat projections indicated that his party would have a much stronger grip on power than its predecessor.
Supporters in Lahore said they hoped that would bring progress after the previous Pakistain Peoples Party government, which much of the country saw as only focused on its survival.
"It will bring stability in our country," said Fayaz Ranjha. "We have voted for them, now it is their turn to take steps to end our miseries."
The 63-year-old Sharif served as prime minister twice during the nineties and oversaw Pakistain's first nuclear weapons test, but was ousted in a coup in 1999 by former chief of the army, Gen.
Pervez PervMusharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
.
Sharif went into exile in Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and only returned to Pakistain in 2007. Even then, he was forced to sit on the sidelines as his party contested parliamentary elections after a court disqualified him from running. He had a prior criminal conviction for terrorism and hijacking stemming from Musharraf's coup -- Sharif was accused at the time of denying the general's plane permission to land.
The Supreme Court overturned the conviction in 2009.