Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the frontrunner in the country’s landmark elections, was on Saturday elected to parliament in a town in his Punjab heartland, his party spokesman said.
“Nawaz Sharif has won his seat from a constituency in Sargodha,” Pakistan Muslim League-N spokesman Siddiqul Farooq.
At PML-N headquarters in the eastern city of Lahore about 300 to 400 supporters who were watching the results coming in on television let out a huge cheer when Sharif’s win was announced.
Sharif served as prime minister from 1990-93, when he was sacked for corruption, and from 1997-99, when he was deposed by the military, although his family say he is a changed man who will this time govern more successfully.
Meanwhile, Pakistani cricket star turned politician Imran Khan was elected into parliament in the north-western city of Peshawar, where his main opponent conceded defeat.
“People have expressed confidence in Imran Khan and have rejected us,” former cabinet minister and senior Awami National Party (ANP) member Ghulam Bilour told private Express TV. The seat in Peshawar was one of four that Khan contested.
Khan’s centre-right Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is looking to make a breakthrough into national politics at Saturday’s polls.
