The following are brief biographies of the main characters in the saga:
Shehbaz Sharif is a Pakistani politician.
Shehbaz Sharif, the brother of three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who has been barred from ever standing for government again and is currently living in exile in Britain, is the leading contender to succeed Khan. However, the 70-year-old is a political heavyweight in his own right, having served as chief minister of Punjab, the family’s political stronghold, and now as head of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N). Despite lurid tabloid tales about many marriages and a real estate empire that includes luxurious apartments in London and Dubai, he remains popular.
Asif Ali Zardari is a Pakistani politician.
Zardari, who comes from a wealthy Sindh family, was known for his playboy lifestyle until he married Benazir Bhutto in an arranged marriage soon before she became Prime Minister for the first time. He jumped into politics with gusto, receiving the moniker “Mr 10%” for the alleged 10% cut he grabbed from government contracts, and was twice imprisoned on charges of corruption, drug smuggling, and murder – but he was never tried. After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the 67-year-old became co-chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and, a year later, president of the country in a power-sharing pact with the PML-N.
Fazlur Rehman, Maulana
After beginning his political career as a fiery hardliner, the Muslim leader has tempered his public image over time, demonstrating flexibility in forging partnerships with secular parties on all sides of the political spectrum. His Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) party, which has the potential to mobilise tens of thousands of Islamic school students, can never muster enough support for power on its own but is always a crucial role in any government. His hatred for Khan is profound, and he refers to him as “a Jew” in allusion to his previous marriage to Briton Jemima Goldsmith. Khan, for his alleged involvement in fraud regarding gasoline licences, refers to him as “Mullah Diesel.”