As per Pakistani TV projections, Sharif's centre-right Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) was leading the race with over 125 seats.

He managed to swim through cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's “tsunami” as his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) had a projected win of only 34 seats.

The 63-year-old has promised to transform the country's economy, end corruption in state-owned enterprises, build a motorway from Lahore to Karachi and launch a bullet train.