among those running for prime minister is former cricketer imran khan. but the buildup to the election has been overshadowed by claims that the powerful military is trying to propel him by cracking down on political rivals and press freedom. mr. khan's chief opponent, former prime minister nawaz sharif, was detained by authorities last wk. neaving his brother to run his place. reporter: they have come to see the man they hope will be the p neme minister. cricketer turned populist politician imran khan tells the crowd heill create a edrruption-free pakistan. but he has been foo deny allegations the elections are being fixed in favor of his party. mr. khan: what you're seeing is all the status quo parties saying that the election is not going to bfree and fair. the reason is all the opinion polls show pti surging up. they are already seeing the writing on the reason why they are going to lose is because of the track record. reporter: pakistan has been directly ruled by the military rather than politicians for arly half its existence. the country has now ha

frreporter inside his home, imran khan addressed the nation. pakistanis across the country watched him promise of affairer -- a fairer and more equal society. mr. khan: we will run pakistan in a way has never been run before, providvethe kind of rnance it has ever had. reporter: khan became a star as an international cri. in britain, he was known for his good looks and playboy lifestyle. atin 1995 he married and l divorced a british socialite. he developed a keen interest in in charitable causes, one he shared with his friend princess diana. after entering politics 22 years ago, he initially struggled. but in recent years his anticorruption message energized young voters. he has, however, faced accusations that pakistan's powerful military has been working behind the scenes to bring him to power. his political rivals have rejected the results of the vote. >> we wi be giving our strategy to the people of the country from a united cal front over concerns of these historic rigged elections in pakistan. reporter: khan's party dismissed those clms.

among those running ime minister is former cricketer imran khan. but the buildup to the election lahas been overshadowed bys that the powerful military is trying to propel him by cracking downn political rivals and press freedom. mr. khan' former prime minister nawaz sharif, was detained by authorities last week. leaving his brother to run in his place. reporter: they have come to see the man they hope will be the next prime minister. edcricketer tuopulist politician imran khan tells the crowd he will create a corruption-free pakistan. ect he has been forced to deny allegations the ons are being fixed in favor of his party. mr. khan: what you're seeing is althe status quo parties saying that the election is not going to be free and fair. the reas is all the opinion polls show pti surging up. they are already seeing the writing on the wall. e ason why they are going to lose is because of the track record. reporter: pakistan has been directly ruled by the mili rather than politicians for nearly half its existence. the country has now had 10 years of