ISLAMABAD: Three-time Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif, who has never managed to see out a full term, heads into Thursday’s election on the brink of his biggest comeback to date.The “Lion of Punjab,” as he is known to his fanatical supporters, is hotly favoured to lead his Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) party to victory and once again take charge of the nuclear-armed nation of 240 million people.It is a far cry from Pakistan’s last elections in 2018, when less than three weeks before polling, he was sentenced to 10 years in jail on graft charges and disqualified from holding public office.Granted special bail to seek medical treatment in Britain, Sharif chose not to return, pulling the strings from abroad as his brother took charge after Imran Khan was kicked out of office in 2022.Often draped in a red Gucci scarf, Sharif’s political fortunes have risen and fallen on his relationship with Pakistan’s powerful military establishment—the country’s true kingmakers.The 74-year-old is one of the nation’s wealthiest men, with a fortune earned in the steel business, but is admired by supporters for his approachable “man of the soil” demeanour.
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