Pakistan polls: New script with old cast

Nawaz Sharif is the frontrunner for prime minister's office in the army-guided elections scheduled for February

- Sharat Sabharwal

With the announcement of February 8 as the election date, the electoral scene is heating up in Pakistan. Veteran politician Nawaz Sharif is said to be the choice of the army for the prime ministership. Judicial cases against him are falling like ninepins and pro-army smaller parties are gravitating towards him.

The job of prime minister (PM), however, comes with two caveats: First, no change in the civil-military equation; and second, stabilisation of the precariously poised economy without hurting the interests of the Pakistani elite, including the army and its business empire.

Originally a creation of the army, Nawaz Sharif has been seen as a strong votary of civilian supremacy since he signed the Charter of Democracy with Benazir Bhutto in 2006. His instinct on the issue was betrayed by his demand, made a few days before his return from exile in London, for the accountability of the former army chief, Qamar Javed Bajwa and former director-general, Inter-Services Intelligence, Faiz Hameed. Persuaded by his brother, Shehbaz Sharif (more acceptable of the two to the army) and other party leaders, he has not persisted with the demand, but Nawaz Sharif is not someone who can take dictation from the army for too long.