Who are the key players after Pakistan's stunning elections?
The stunning election success of a party whose leader is in prison has sparked a political crisis in Pakistan, a nuclear-armed nation of 240 million.
The stakes are high: Pakistanis face rising inflation and living costs, frequent power outages, resurgence of terrorist attacks and strained relations with their neighbors.
Here are the critical figures vying for power.
Imran Khan: The imprisoned leader
Imran Khan, former prime minister and cricket star, has been sentenced to 34 years in prison on charges including leaking state secrets and unlawful marriage. He is barred from holding office and his supporters call the charges, which he denies, an attempt by the military to silence his main critic.
Khan, 71, was ousted as prime minister in 2022 but has made a comeback, rallying young people with populist rhetoric and criticism of the dynastic families and military establishment that have dominated Pakistan for decades. In last week's elections, candidates aligned with Mr Khan won more seats in parliament than any other group – but still failed to form a majority on their own.
Mr Khan faces a legal maze as he tries to leave prison. Many experts believe his party is unlikely to form a governing coalition, given the military's preference for its rivals and its strained relations with the two other major parties.
But his party's ability to organize support online has helped Mr Khan remain as a powerful influence. His party disputed the election results based on widely reported irregularities in vote counting, and an AI-generated version of Mr Khan declared victory on Saturday.
Nawaz Sharif: The other former Prime Minister
Mr Khan's main rival was another former prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. Both men aligned themselves with military generals when they took office and subsequently fell out with them.
Analysts say military pressure has contributed to Mr Sharif's problems holding on to power: despite being Pakistan's longest-serving prime minister, serving three terms, he has never completed one. (Pakistan has never had a prime minister complete a full term in the office.)
He last stepped down in 2017 after he and his family were mired in corruption allegations that the Supreme Court ruled disqualified him from office.
Sharif, 74, spent years in self-imposed exile in London before returning to Pakistan last year after reaching a détente with the military, which felt he could rival Khan's popular support, analysts say. During his final term in office, he presided over a period of relative economic stability, but eventually fell out with the military over foreign policy and its role in politics.
His party won the second most seats in parliament, according to preliminary counts: 77 candidates, compared to the 92 aligned with Khan.
But it is not clear that Mr Sharif will become prime minister again. Before the election, he suggested he only wanted the role if his party won a simple majority. In recent years he has also become increasingly concerned about his legacy, and leading a weak government after an election marred by allegations of rigging could jeopardize it, analysts say.
Shehbaz Sharif: the brother of the former Prime Minister
Shehbaz Sharif, the former prime minister's 72-year-old brother, is considered the military's favorite choice for prime minister. He led a coalition government after Mr Khan's ouster and is seen as more deferential to the military than his brother.
He became the flag-bearer of their party, the PMLN, and is known for his administrative skills and his oversight of major infrastructure projects. He, too, has been dogged by allegations of bribery and malfeasance, which have been at the center of several corruption investigations.
He has denied the allegations but has also faced criticism over his leadership in Punjab, the country's most populous province and home to the Sharif dynasty. While prime minister there, he was accused of doing little to rein in extremist sectarian groups and ordering extrajudicial killings. He was acquitted of these costs in 2008.
The coalition government he chaired as prime minister was also broadly unpopular and seen as unable to tackle the economic crisis. And he does not have the popular appeal of his older brother, who has a loyal support base in parts of Punjab.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari: a dynastic scion
The third most seats in parliament went to the Pakistan People's Party, potentially making it a key player in any coalition.
The party is led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the son of Benazir Bhutto, who in 1988 became the first woman democratically elected to lead a Muslim country. Ms Bhutto was elected twice, removed from office twice – under pressure from the military on corruption charges – and assassinated in 2007 as she sought a third term.
Her son, 35, has tried to reverse the party's declining fortunes, partly by appealing to people outside the party's base in southern Pakistan. The party could be part of a Sharif-led coalition government – and on Sunday leaders from both parties met to discuss that possibility.
The army
Hovering over all these politicians is the military, which for decades has functioned as Pakistan's ultimate authority, controlling civilian leaders, staging coups and directing political decisions. Last week's elections were a stunning shock to the military, which had relied on its long, effective playbook for suppressing political dissent.
General Syed Asim Munir, the army chief, is widely seen as a personal rival of Mr Khan. But since the election, General Munir has been under pressure to strike a deal with the jailed leader, which could include his eventual release on bail.
If they fail to reach an agreement, Khan could tell his party's winning candidates to resign from Parliament in protest. That could cause further political chaos for the country, undermining the legitimacy of the new government. These leaders will also have to deal with the growing anger that many Pakistanis feel toward the military as it has cracked down on protests and economic problems have multiplied under its watch.