Pakistan election: the main players
National polls on Wednesday, July 25
Thrice prime minister but has never completed a term
ousted by the supreme court in 2017 and banned from politics for life over corruption
sentenced in abstentia to 10 years in prison for corruption on July 6, arrested on his return to the country on July 13
analysts say he has returned to fight for his political life, as his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) stumbles in the campaign Main opposition leader who makes no secret of his ambition to become a premier
Known mainly in the west as a talented sportsman and infamous playboy, he presents a more conservative and devout face to muslim pakistan
critics consider him unfit for office, some call him “Taliban Khan” for his repeated calls for talks with violent insurgent groups
his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has governed the northwest Khyber pakhtunkhwa province President of the PML-N after his elder sibling was ousted, theoretically leads the party into the election
has spent more than 10 years as chief ministerof punjab province, which represents over half the country’s 207 million population
his quieter style is being overshadowed by his brother's loud quarrel with the military Reputedly less stubborn and therefore more acceptable to the military than Nawaz his mother was the first woman to lead a muslim country. his father, asif ali Zardari, previously served as president
Chairman of his family’s Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
his family once dominated pakistani politics but ppp is now in decline, even challenged in their stronghold sindh province Has little experience in politics but could become kingmaker by joining forces with PML-N or PTI, if either fail to win an outright majority