The atmosphere of Thursday’s elections is similar to the 2018 elections, but the tables have turned.
Then, it was Sharif who was disqualified from contesting elections due to his conviction for corruption, while Khan came to power with the support of the army as well as de facto support.
While casting his vote at a school in Lahore on Thursday, Sharif denied that he had struck any deal with the army to rule.
“I’ve never really had a problem with the military,” he said.
Bilal Gilani, executive director of polling group Gallup Pakistan, said the history of Pakistan elections is replete with allegations of rigging, but also bias.
“This is a managed democracy run by the military,” he said.
However, unlike the previous election, the opposition party’s name has been removed from the ballot papers, forcing PTI-selected candidates to contest the elections as independents.
Khan, a former international cricketer who led Pakistan to victory in the 1992 World Cup, was last week sentenced to a long jail term for treason, corruption and illegal marriage.
A PTI official told AFP that Khan was allowed to cast postal ballot from Adiala jail.
Analysts say the character assassination shows how worried the military is that PTI-selected candidates could still prove decisive in Thursday’s vote.
If Sharif does not win a ruling majority, he will likely take power through a coalition with one or more junior allies – including the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a family-run coalition now led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. And there is dynasty.
Observers say whoever wins takes over a deeply divided country whose economy is in shambles.
Inflation is galloping at nearly 30 per cent, the rupee has been falling continuously for the last three years and imports have stagnated due to the balance of payments deficit, severely hampering industrial growth.