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Issues are generally of secondary importance in Pakistani elections which are usually dominated by debate around personalities. In the 1977 national election, it was the charismatic Zulfikar Ali Bhutto against an old-guard alliance. Since the first general election of 1970, people either passionately loved Bhutto, primarily because of his populist slogan of ‘Roti, Kapra aur Makan’ (bread, clothes and housing) or they resented his aggressive, relatively liberal and pro-nationalization stance. This divide became a permanent feature between Bhutto dynasty and anti-Bhutto parties in the subsequent elections. The 1985 election was boycotted by Bhutto’s daughter, Benazir, but the subsequent four elections in 1988, 1990, 1993 and 1997 were contested between Benazir, representing the Bhutto camp against anti-Bhutto grouping, primarily led by Nawaz Sharif. After a military coup in 1999, both Benazir and Sharif realized the folly of carrying on the personal feud and signed a ‘Charter of Democracy’ in 2006. In 2013, however, the bitter feud between Bhuttos and Sharifs was replaced by an even more lethal confrontation between Sharif and Imran Khan, an emerging leader back then. The 2018 election was contested under the shadow of this confrontation, which at times assumed the form of personal enmity.

The 2024 election will be dominated........

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