Nawaz Sharif's PML-N Kicks Off Election Campaign Amid Claims of Pak Military's Support

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s PML-N, considered the front-runner to win upcoming general elections, launched its campaign on Monday in the eastern city of Okara in Punjab province.

The campaign for the February 8 polls was launched amid accusations that the military’s support is already giving him an edge over rivals as Sharif’s main rival Imran Khan’s party is facing what is considered a military-backed crackdown.

Sharif’s daughter Maryam Nawaz, who is also considered his political heir, started the party’s campaign at a rally in Okara. “The more you vote for us the more you will see your household expenses going down,” she said amid inflation that has been hovering around 30% in recent months.

‘Terrorist party’

In an apparent reference to the PTI, Maryam slammed the embattled side and said a “terrorist party” could not be allotted an electoral symbol. This comes after Pakistan’s Supreme Court declared null and void the intra-party polls of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and stripped the party of the ‘bat” as its election symbol, putting an end to the row over the iconic electoral symbol. This decision is being decried as a death sentence for a “free and fair election,” slated to be held next month.

Sharif, who returned from self-exile in London late last year, has pledged to rebuild the country’s economy, which is battling high inflation, an unstable currency and low foreign exchange reserves, despite averting a debt default with an IMF bailout last summer. Analysts believe the South Asian nation’s powerful military has thrown its backing to Sharif after it was locked in a standoff with former cricket star Khan. However, the military denies the accusations, and says it remains apolitical.

Major players such as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) have already begun campaigns, but these have been muted compared to past polls. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has started its campaign late, while Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) says it is not being allowed rallies by the authorities.

Khan’s PTI is facing state-backed efforts to block candidates on legal and technical grounds. Sharif, elected prime minister in 1990, 1997, and 2013, has blamed his 2017 ouster and subsequent corruption convictions on the military, with which he had fallen out.

(With agency inputs)