What now for Pakistan and Imran Khan?
In an extraordinary turn of events independent candidates endorsed by and affiliated with the incarcerated former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) have won the most number of seats in the National Assembly where 169 seats are needed to form a clean majority government. Former Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, until recently on the run from a corruption-related case, returned to contest but does not seem to have been given anything approaching a mandate, although his Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Party (PMLN) is turning out to be the largest single party.
To understand the election’s aftermath Mayank Chhaya Reports spoke to Beena Sarwar, a well-known Pakistani journalist, documentary filmmaker, peace activist and political analyst from Lahore.