Pakistan’s old guard confronts shock upset to Imran Khan in Punjab heartland

After being blindsided by the shock victory of candidates loyal to Imran Khan in elections last week, rivals of the jailed former prime minister are set to govern again as they cobble together a coalition of Pakistan’s traditional ruling parties.

Shehbaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-N has agreed to form a government with groups including the Pakistan People’s party of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, son of slain former premier Benazir Bhutto. Analysts said the arrangement appeared to have the support of the powerful army.

But they will inherit a country that has reacted sharply against Pakistan’s long-standing political model of rule by military-backed, family-run parties.

Candidates allied with Khan’s populist Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won the most seats in parliament last week, propelled by voters weary of Pakistan’s political old guard and the military’s manipulation of politics. The army had orchestrated a pre-poll crackdown on the PTI, which in turn has alleged vote rigging to deny it a parliamentary majority.

“There’s been a generational shift,” said Hammad Azhar, a senior PTI member, adding that younger voters “don’t identify with the old dynastic parties”.

Even if the PML-N and its allies take office once again, observers said the surge in support for the PTI had shifted the balance of power — leaving a Sharif-led government looking vulnerable before it has even started.

“Pakistan’s most consequential election has altered the national political landscape,” said Mushahid Hussain, a senator from Sharif’s PML-N. “People voluntarily came out on their own in droves to vote for PTI. Normally they have to be bussed to polling stations in transport provided by candidates.”

Nowhere was this more evident than in…