INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Nawaz Sharif was the 15th prime minister in Pakistan's seven-decade history (File Photo)Islamabad: Pakistan
will hold general elections on July 25, a presidential spokesman said Saturday, offering the prospect of what would be only the second ever
democratic transfer of power in the nuclear-armed country."The president has approved July 25 as the date for holding general elections in
the country," a spokesman from Mamnoon Hussain's office told AFP.The announcement comes as the current government enters its final week in
It is expected to hand over power to a caretaker administration in the coming days.Turmoil continues to rock the country after former prime
minister Nawaz Sharif was ousted by the Supreme Court last July on corruption charges and later barred from politics for life.Sharif was the
15th prime minister in Pakistan's seven-decade history -- roughly half of it under military rule -- to be removed before completing a full
term.After Sharif was ousted from power, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz party (PML-N) took over the
premiership.Pakistan completed its first ever democratic transfer of power following elections in 2013, when the government headed by the
Pakistan People's Party handed over to the PML-N, following a landslide victory."This is the second consecutive parliament to complete its
tenure and we are now looking forward to go to the people to get their verdict on our performance," Finance Minister Miftah Ismail told
AFP.Increasing PressureThe general elections are expected to pit the PML-N against its main rival, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party led by
former cricket star Imran Khan.PTI is vowing to clean up the country's rampant corruption, while investing in education and healthcare as
Khan inches closer to his years-long dream of leading the country as prime minister.With Sharif out, the PML-N continue to boast of their
investment in the country's rickety infrastructure and courting billions of dollars in Chinese investment.Since he was ousted, Sharif and
the PML-N have become increasingly vocal in their confrontation with the country's military establishment and courts, claiming they are
victims of a conspiracy to reduce the power of their party.Despite the numerous court rulings against the PML-N, the party has won a string
of recent by-elections proving it will likely remain a powerful force.The PML-N continues to enjoy large swathes of support in the country's
most populous Punjab province, but will enter the election under increasing pressure.In April, a Pakistan court disqualified Foreign
Minister Khawaja Asif for violating the country's election laws, while interior minister Ahsan Iqbal was shot in the arm in a suspected
assassination attempt in early May by an Islamist gunman.Sharif also sparked a firestorm earlier this month after suggesting Pakistani
terrorists were behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks, approaching what is seen as a red line in the country by touching on criticism of Pakistan's
armed forces.There have been increasing fears that media outlets are under heavy pressure from the security establishment heading into the
elections, spurring accusations of self censorship by Pakistan's leading television news broadcasters.(Except for the headline, this story
has not been edited by TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
