Those files, an avalanche of millions of leaked confidential documents from a law firm in Panama, included several pieces of information that incriminated Pakistan’s prime minister at the time, Nawaz Sharif. Evidence began to build that Mr. Sharif had stolen millions of dollars from public coffers in Pakistan to buy expensive apartments in London, under the names of his children. Mr. Khan capitalized on this and called for Mr. Sharif to resign. The Supreme Court removed Mr. Sharif from office, and just two weeks ago, right before the election, Mr. Sharif and his daughter were imprisoned. Few would disagree that corruption is out of control in Pakistan. But many observers here saw something in Mr. Sharif’s downfall that was more selective, possibly more sinister. The widespread suspicion was that Pakistan’s powerful military and intelligence services had pressured the judiciary to take out Mr. Sharif, clearing a path for Mr. Khan to take over. Mr. Sharif had clashed with the army chiefs, even some of those he had chosen, many times. He was a thorn in their side. Mr. Khan, on the other hand, was someone the military bosses seemed to think they could work with. Analysts said he shared their worldview, in which Pakistan would kowtow less to the United States and talk more with the Taliban and other extremist groups. In the prelude to the election, the military seemed to push even harder for Mr. Khan. Human rights groups, academics and members of other political parties said security officers threatened politicians to defect to Mr. Khan’s side. Several did. That does not mean that Mr. Khan was not genuinely popular. He was, especially among young men who lionized him as a sports hero. As elections loomed, a Khan wave swept Pakistan. His face was everywhere — on banners, lampposts and torn flags flying from the sputtering rickshaws that flit in and out of traffic. His supporters were the most energized and confident. His party’s symbol: a cricket bat.<doc-sep>Imran’s politics is a mix of middle-class aspiration for a “clean, transparent and accountable government”, Islamic egalitarianism, justice for all, liberal economics, and religious and social conservatism. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar) Imran’s politics is a mix of middle-class aspiration for a “clean, transparent and accountable government”, Islamic egalitarianism, justice for all, liberal economics, and religious and social conservatism. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar) Poised to take over as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan had to wait 22 years, most of them on the margins of his country’s political arena, to reach the highest office. From losing both seats in his first election in 1997 despite his cricketer-hero status, to the Pakistan-Tehreek-e-Insaf emerging the single largest party in 2018, Imran has a come a long way, with his politics too undergoing several makeovers over these two decades. His critics say he is confused, his supporters that it only shows he is open-minded. But despite all the contradictions, from the beginning, one impression about the 65-year-old Imran has stayed: that he is a progeny of Pakistan’s powerful establishment, created to cut the two big players, Benazir Bhutto and her Pakistan People’s Party, and Nawaz Sharif and his Pakistan Muslim League (N). This election, probably Pakistan’s most polarising in recent history, has entrenched that reputation — the military’s open animosity towards Sharif, and some of its moves in the last five years signalled its preference for Imran. Follow LIVE UPDATES on the Pakistan Election Results 2018 Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), speaks to the media after casting his vote at a polling station on July 25, 2018. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha) Imran Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), speaks to the media after casting his vote at a polling station on July 25, 2018. (Reuters/Athit Perawongmetha) Mixed politics, mixed following Imran’s politics is a mix of middle-class aspiration for a “clean, transparent and accountable government”, Islamic egalitarianism, justice for all, liberal economics, and religious and social conservatism. He supports the blasphemy law, is against repealing Pakistan’s Second Amendment that declares Ahmadiyya to be non-Muslim; he flirts with the Taliban, and in this election, canvassed support from the extremist Tehreek e-Labbaik Pakistan, and the virulently anti-Shia offshoot of the Sipah-e-Sahaba, Ahle Wal Suunah Jamat. READ | ‘No bed of roses for Imran Khan government’: Pakistan media’s take on his ascension to power With his politics offering something for everyone, his following is a mix of the cosmopolitan middle-class in urban Pakistan, who fear the progress of religious conservatism in their lives, and the religious conservatives who believe Pakistan is getting too westernised. Pakistan’s population of about 200 million is overwhelmingly young and aspirational. There were 46 million voters between the ages of 18 and 35. Almost 17 million of them came of age after the end of Pervez Musharraf’s tenure and have no experience of military rule. They have known only civilian governments of the PPP and PML(N), both perceived as corrupt. In this time, the Army recovered fully from the erosion of public faith in it that had set in midway during Musharraf’s rule, and presented itself as the only institution Pakistanis could count on. Express Opinion | PML-N’s clash with Pak establishment, a media revolution, played a role in Khan’s victory Accountability, thus, has been Imran’s main theme. In addition, the PTI’s promise of naya Pakistan is achche din plus AAP jhadoo: it includes a Medina-like welfare state in which education and health will get maximum priority, 10 million jobs, five million low-cost homes, and the return of black money that wealthy Pakistanis have stashed abroad. Some of the promises, such as healthcare and education reform, are based on the PTI’s five-year experience of governance in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Its healthcare initiatives in that province have won non-partisan praise. Affordable health has been Imran’s passion since he set up the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Research Hospital, named after his mother. Expectations of him are high but a fair amount of political uncertainty may make it difficult for him to keep these promises. Supporters of Imran Khan celebrate projected results in the parliamentary elections in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 25, 2018. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) Supporters of Imran Khan celebrate projected results in the parliamentary elections in Islamabad, Pakistan, Wednesday, July 25, 2018. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary) India & neighbourhood Foreign policy and national security are areas in which Pakistani Prime Ministers have found themselves bogged down, not least because of the military’s claim over them. But Imran has given enough indication that he is on the same page as the Army on foreign policy, including for the neighbourhood. While he has declared himself a votary of peace with neighbours, he says he will not bow to India’s “thaanedaari”. He believes only the Pakistan Army can stand up to India. He called Sharif a coward for not responding militarily to the 2016 “surgical strikes”. He has said Prime Minister Narendra Modi “killed Muslims”in Gujarat. His real test with India will come with how he deals with the groups the Pakistan establishment protects: Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamat-ud-Dawa and Jaish-e-Mohammed, responsible for a proxy war in Kashmir and terrorist acts in other parts of India. Express Explained | The Pollitics of the Pakistan Army As for the Taliban, he opposed US presence in Afghanistan, and was vocal against US-Pakistan military operations in the region after 9/11. That was around the time that he parted ways with Musharraf after praising his military coup at the beginning. This year, he described US President Donald Trump as “ignorant and ungrateful” for accusing Pakistan of giving “nothing but lies and deceit”in return for financial aid. Imran was a staunch opponent of Pakistan military operations against the Pakistani Taliban. His praise for the Taliban earned him the nickname of “Taliban Khan”. That underwent a change after the Taliban attack on a school in Peshawar, in which over 100 children were killed; he backed the Army’s anti-Taliban operations. His criticism of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, questioning the lack of transparency, rang alarm bells in Beijing and Rawalpindi.<doc-sep>Share: International media on today's general elections has predicted Imran Khan to be the next prime minister of Pakistan, reports the British newspaper Wednesday. The nation will choose their new rulers for next 5 years, on the important occasion, media around the world was also eyeing on July 25 elections. According to Washington Post, despite terrorism and corruption case against Sharif family, elections were being held in Pakistan and Imran Khan is keen to make a new Pakistan. Another American newspaper, Huffington Post says chances of Imran khan's premiership increased after former PM was jailed in absentia. Similarly, British newspaper The Independent also predicted Imran Khan to be the next prime minister of Pakistan. Gulf News says, Imran Khan, Shahbaz Sharif and Bilawal Bhutto are ready to fight the political power in the election, whereas Indian media in recent surveys claimed that Imran has surpassed Nawaz in public popularity. On the other hand, the British newspaper The Guardian published a special report on transgenders participation for the first time in the Pakistani elections, while Al Jazeera has made complete information about the general elections as part of the news, including all the seats.<doc-sep>It is tempting to see the rise of Imran Khan in Pakistan as a sort of counterpart to the En Marche! phenomenon in France that propelled Emmanuel Macron to power. As Mr Khan enjoys a surge in support for his party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Pakistan Movement for Justice, or PTI), and every chance of winning the elections this week, there are some parallels between the young French president and the youthful (though 65-year-old) Mr Khan. Mr Khan enjoys a legendary charisma, mostly born of his cricketing prowess, as if Gareth Southgate or Harry Kane were running to be prime minister of Britain. We know him in Britain too as the former husband of Jemima Goldsmith, and thus brother-in-law to her brother Zac. He has glamour, then, and a common touch that has seen his party make inroads in the populous Punjab, without which none can rule in Pakistan. Mr Khan has also made radical, reformist noises, pledged to rid his land of endemic corruption, and, more predictably, attacked the United States from its drone powered incursions into the Islamic Republic’s territory. 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Tens of millions of Pakistanis are expected to vote today in an election that could have repercussions for the entire region. If successful, the elections will mark only the second time a civilian government has handed power to another since the country's independence in 1947. The race to be the country's next prime minister is tight, but most polls are predicting a narrow victory for the former Pakistan cricket captain Imran Khan. The head of the centre-right Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is likely to have to form a coalition if he wants to govern though. Image: Imran Khan, at a campaign rally, is predicted to narrowly win the election Image: Nawaz Sharif is campaigning from prison in Islamabad His main opponent, the three-time former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, was arrested on corruption charges when he landed in Lahore from London earlier this month. He is now campaigning from prison in Islamabad and is reported to be suffering from health issues. In his place as candidate for the centre-right Pakistan Muslim League is his brother Shahbaz Sharif. Image: Shahbaz Sharif is the brother of former PM Nawaz Sharif The party have said they have been "victimised" but remain "resilient" and have seen "a spike in popular support". The all-powerful military has been accused of influencing the election in Imran Khan's favour by censoring news coverage. Some believe it would suit the army to have a prime minister with only a thin majority, therefore giving them power behind-the-scenes. A third candidate, Bilawal Bhutto Zadari, from the Pakistan People's Party, could be the kingmaker. The 29-year-old Oxford-educated politician comes from a dynasty of Pakistan leaders. Image: Bilawal Bhutto Zardari could be the kingmaker He is the son of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in 2007. His father is Asif Ali Zadari, who served as the 11th president of Pakistan. Whoever wins the election will need to seek an alliance with Bhutto's party or possibly a collection of independents. Voting day is a public holiday in Pakistan. Some 3,459 candidates, representing more than 100 political parties, are competing for 272 seats in the national assembly. Sixty seats are reserved for women while 10 have been kept aside for religious minorities including Hindus. Nearly half a million police personnel will be deployed to protect polling stations and to ensure voters can cast their ballots freely and safely. Polls close at 6pm and a result is expected overnight, although coalition negotiations could take days.