Pakistan’s election: Who’s running, what’s the mood and will anything change?

By RIAZAT BUTT
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistanis are electing a new parliament Thursday in a race that essentially is concentrated on two parties. One party is that of the recently returned and absolved of all crimes former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The other is that of archrival Imran Khan. Khan is barred from running and is imprisoned for corruption, revealing state secrets and breaking the country’s marriage laws. Khan insists the cases against him are politically motivated. The next government will have a long to-do list. That includes fixing the economy, improving relations with the neighboring Taliban-run Afghanistan, repairing crumbling infrastructure and resolving year-round power outages. Last but not least is containing religious and separatist militant groups.