Nawaz May Be Just Awaz
Nawaz Sharif, punished for questioning the army’s primacy, had been removed under a ‘minus Nawaz’ formula designed by Pakistan’s establishment, which allowed the PML-N to complete its parliamentary term, as long as Nawaz himself was kept out of the fray, with a choice of prison or exile.
Vox Militum beats Vox Populi
While the PML-N ended up as the largest federal party (with 75 of 266 national assembly seats), but no majority in its home base of Punjab, and the Zardari-Bhutto PPP claimed 54 seats and the home province of Sindh, it was the independents (mostly) backed by the PTI that surprised Pakistanis with over 100 seats.