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The campaign for the Feb. 8 polls, delayed since November, looks
set to fire up a lukewarm race so far amid an uncertain
political environment after Sharif's main rival and jailed
former premier Imran Khan's party is facing what is considered a
military-backed crackdown.
Sharif's daughter Maryam Nawaz, who is also considered his
political heir, started the party's campaign at a rally in the
eastern city of Okara in Punjab province.
"The more you vote for us the more you will see your household
expenses going down," she said amid inflation that has been
hovering around 30% in recent months.
Sharif, who returned from self-exile in London late last year,
has pledged to rebuild the country's $350 billion economy, which
is battling high inflation, an unstable currency and low foreign
exchange reserves, despite averting a debt default with an IMF
bailout last summer.
Analysts believe the South Asian nation's powerful military has
thrown its backing to Sharif, 74, after it was locked in a
standoff with former cricket star Khan, 71.
That gives Sharif an edge in a country where army generals exert
undue influence over establishing governments.
The military denies the accusations, and says it remains
apolitical.
Major players such as the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) of late
prime minister Benazir Bhutto have already begun campaigns, but
these have been muted compared to past polls.
The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has started its campaign late,
while Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) says it is not being
allowed rallies by the authorities.
Khan's PTI, which analysts and political opponents say won the
2018 elections with the military's support, is facing
state-backed efforts to block candidates on legal and technical
grounds.
Sharif, elected prime minister in 1990, 1997, and 2013, has
blamed his 2017 ouster and subsequent corruption convictions on
the military, with which he had fallen out.
(Reporting by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
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