Shehbaz Sharif becomes prime minister, niece Maryam becomes head of government in Punjab and Asif Ali Zardari becomes president. And the former prime minister leaves empty-handed.
Imran Khan has lost the power game in Pakistan for now. The former prime minister named Omar Ayub Khan as his candidate for election as prime minister from prison in Rawalpindi. However, the appointment has no more than symbolic value.
On the one hand, the secretary general of the Islamist Justice Party (PTI), grandson of a former military dictator, went into hiding after the parliamentary elections a week ago because he was threatened with charges and arrest. On the other hand, the independent candidates, who achieved a sensational coup with more than a third of the seats after the PTI was excluded from the elections and under the most adverse conditions, lack the votes for a parliamentary majority.