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POLIITICAL EVOLUTION OF PAKISTAN SINCE 1947

A brief history of Pakistan’s turbulent democratic and political evolution

On the 25th of July, millions of Pakistanis will brave the hot, humid July weather, perennial fears of
security and their own apprehensions of Pakistan’s fledgling democracy to head to the polls and to
elect Pakistan’s new government. The day is in fact a historic moment because this will only be the
second time Pakistan will witness a successful democratic transition in its turbulent seventy year
history. It is thus pertinent to chronicle the historical events that brought Pakistan’s democratic
journey to this groundbreaking moment.

1947-1958: An incipient democracy struggles to assert itself as the specter of dictatorship looms

The first decade after Pakistan’s independence was marked by a struggling democracy trying to
impose itself on Pakistan’s landscape. This first decade in fact laid the groundwork for the civil-
military imbalance that would come to define Pakistan in the coming years.

Pakistan’s beginnings were marked by contrasting fortunes of the military and the civilian
government. Pakistan’s founders harboured genuine existential fears of India threatening action
against Pakistan, and this fear led to Pakistan diverting scarce resources to the military. This Indian
threat also led to Pakistan seeking a patron on the international level that would guarantee Pakistan’s
security. This line of thinking led Pakistan to entrench itself firmly in the Cold War camp on the
hopes that America would protect Pakistan’s territorial integrity. America, for its part, poured millions
in the Pakistani army in a bid to make it a bulwark against possible Soviet aggression in Asia.

The patronage the military enjoyed from the Pakistani state and from America led to the military
modernising on a far more rapid scale than Pakistan’s civilian establishment. The latter, in fact,
suffered from political squabbling and chose to adopt a centralised approach instead of decentralising
power to the provinces. This decision once again stemmed from our leaders’ fears that enemy forces
might exploit fissures in Pakistan’s cultural and national make up, which could lead to Pakistan
breaking up.

The diverging paths of the military and the civilian government eventually pitted the two forces in a
conflict that was only ever likely to have one winner. Pakistan’s first experiment with democracy thus
came to an ignominious end on 7th October 1958, when the then President Iskander Mirza abrogated
the constitution and declared martial law in Pakistan.

1958-1971: The years of development, conflict and direct military rule

Student protests against Ayub Khan’s rule in 1968

Iskander Mirza’s control of the state would turn out to be short-lived as well. The army chief Ayub
Khan took power in his own hands and sent Mirza on a ‘vacation’ without a return ticket. Ayub then
installed himself as Pakistan’s president and presided over a decade that has been defined as a turning
point in Pakistan’s economic trajectory, but which also witnessed Pakistan fighting a war with India
in 1965. The economic policies Ayub promulgated were also in large part responsible for East
Pakistan breaking apart from Pakistan.
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Ayub was candid about his disdain for parliamentary democracy from the beginning. Trained at
Sandhurst and highly Western-oriented, Ayub took pride in Pakistan being the United States’s ‘most-
allied ally’, and installed a political system that strongly mirrored America’s presidential form of
democracy.

Ayub’s 1962 constitution–which interestingly did not initially include the ‘Islamic Republic’ in its
title, envisioned an electoral college of 80,000 people who would elect the President. The Basic
Democracies system was in fact a multi-layered, and complex system that meant that Pakistan’s
president–who inevitably was to be Ayub Khan– would be indirectly elected. This system of indirect
elections was moreover born out of Ayub’s belief that the Pakistani ‘mentality’ was not suitable for
Parliamentary democracy.

Ayub’s economic policies also made him stand out from his predecessors and from those who would
succeed him as Pakistan’s leaders. Ayub harbingered the green revolution in Pakistan and also set
Pakistan on the path of unprecedented industrial development. This growth, however, had a
tremendous cost since it gave birth to regional inequalities. Pakistan’s famed economist, Mehboob-ul-
Haq, for instance, dubbed Ayub’s economic policies ‘the Doctrine of Functional Inequality’ and
highlighted the stark inequality that had emerged in Pakistan in the 1960s.

This inequality, coupled with Ayub’s stifling of democracy eventually gave birth to the social unrest
that forced Ayub to resign in 1969. The former army chief, however, chose not to hold elections and
instead passed on the baton to the then army chief, Yahya Khan.

Yahya continues to remain an enigma in Pakistan’s history. Although Yahya was the first leader to
hold direct elections in Pakistan on the basis of ‘one person, one vote’, his role in the subsequent
political crisis highlights his inherent bias and disdain for sharing power with East Pakistan.

It remains a poorly kept secret of Pakistan’s history that the 1971 tragedy was down largely to West
Pakistan’s economic and political isolation of East Pakistan, and owed little to India’s pernicious role.
India did indeed exploit nationalist sentiment in what is now Bangladesh, but the grounds for division
were laid when West Pakistan ignored economic development in East Pakistan, and when Bengalis
increasingly found themselves shut off from military, bureaucratic and political positions in the
country.

1971-1988: The years of self-avowed ‘socialism’ and military rule

The division of Pakistan meant Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and his Pakistan Peoples’ Party (PPP) found
themselves governing the country. This was perhaps the best time for civilian politicians to assert
themselves over the military since the latter found itself humiliated and devoid of pride and public
support after the 1971 incident.

However, as has become commonplace for our politicians, Bhutto resorted to authoritarian rule that
isolated his party cadre, and stifled opposition in the country. Although Bhutto had soared to
popularity on his socialist mandate of ‘roti, kapra, makaan’, and he did nationalise many industries in
the country, his failure to implement his land reforms and his action against prominent trade unions
highlight a sharp dichotomy and dissonance in his ideology.
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Bhutto’s taste for authoritarianism was only compounded by an economic crisis that gripped Pakistan.
The floods in 1973-74 and the OPEC oil crisis that triggered a global recession all contributed to
decreasing Bhutto’s popularity in the country. It thus only seemed inevitable that the military would
re-assert itself, and the straw that broke the camel’s back was the claim that Bhutto rigged the 1977
elections. As opposition to Bhutto mounted, General Zia ul Haq led ‘Operation Fairplay’ on the 5th of
July, 1977, and ended Bhutto’s rule.

Zia-ul-Haq’s oppressive rule continues to haunt Pakistan’s political and social fabric. Zia abrogated
the 1973 constitution, and added the infamous Eighth amendment that would debilitate Pakistan’s
democracy for the next twenty years. Zia’s rule also blended a myopic view of Islam with
authoritarian rule, which gave birth to many radical movements that plague Pakistan today.

Zia ul Haq administering the oath of office of the Chairman of Federal Shariat Court to Mr. Justice
(Retd) Sallahuddin Ahmed

Zia also took the momentous decision to place Pakistan at the vanguard of America’s war against the
Soviet invasion in Afghanistan. CIA and Pakistani funded ‘mujahideen’ took on Soviet forces in an
operation that radicalised Pakistani society, and gave birth to the present blend of conservatism that
has gripped Pakistan.

Zia’s tenure was another significant setback to the democratic project in Pakistan since his
constitutional amendments and use of Islam as a political gimmick were to shape Pakistan’s political
landscape for decades to come. It was only his death in a mysterious plane crash on the 17th of
August 1988 that ushered in a new, albeit significantly curtailed period of democracy in Pakistan.

1988-1999: Controlled democracy and the decade of presidential high-handednes :

Pakistan’s 1990s oscillated between rule by Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto. The ‘Daughter of the
East’, Benazir made a remarkable return from obscurity in 1988 when her PPP surged to power in that
year’s elections. However, General Zia’s legacy continued to stifle democracy in Pakistan, with
Benazir coming in direct conflict with the now far more powerful position of President, and the army.
Indeed, it was the eighth amendment that paved the way for President Ghulam Ishaq Khan’s dismissal
of Benazir’s government in 1990.

The 1990 elections saw Nawaz Sharif’s Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) come to power, but his
tenure too was marked by conflict with the military and the President. Nawaz made the wise decision
to keep Pakistan out of the First Gulf War, and laid the grounds for what would become Nawaz’s
brainchild–the motorways in his tenure, but his time in office too was cut short when the military
forced both him and Ghulam Khan to resign in 1993 after Nawaz and Khan could not agree on key
policy measures.

1993 and 1996 were the next election cycles which saw Benazir emerge victorious in the former, with
Nawaz coming to power again in 1996. It was his heavy mandate in 1996 that allowed Nawaz to pass
the Thirteenth amendment that limited the President’s powers and finally gave breathing space to
civilian rule. Nawaz, however, triggered inter-institutional conflict when his supporters first led a raid
on the Supreme Court in 1997 and later when he tried to remove army chief Pervez Musharraf. The
latter action, sadly, proved to be too much for the army to digest, with the military triggering a
military coup, and once again pushing Pakistan into the grips of military rule.
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1999-2008: ‘Enlightened Moderation’ and a period of seismic changes

Pervez Musharraf’s rule was another defining period in Pakistan’s history. These nine years once
again witnessed near unprecedented economic growth–much of it owing to economic rewards from
Pakistan’s participation in the War on Terror–to the impact the WoT had on Pakistan’s security and
peace.

It was also under Musharraf’s rule that digital media gained immense traction and growth, a
phenomenon that would ironically lead to his downfall. Musharraf also promulgated the 17th
amendment that undid a lot of the democratic gains Pakistan achieved in the thirteenth amendment.

lawyers-movement: Lawyers take to the streets in 2007 to protest against Pervez Musharraf

Pakistan’s exposure to democracy and to globalisation through a vibrant digital media, and the
societal changes that emerged out of a rising middle class, however, eventually proved too much for
Musharraf’s stranglehold on the political landscape, and led to the lawyer’s movement and the
opposition to the emergency of 3rd November, 2007 which culminated in Musharraf giving up power.
The rise of a religious middle class also served as the impetus behind Nawaz Sharif’s return, and it
was his presence and the return of Benazir Bhutto that toppled Pakistan’s third military regime.

2008-Present: Democracy gaining a foothold in the country?

2018 will mark a decade since Pakistan has had uninterrupted democratic rule. This period has seen
tremendous democratic gains such as the passing of the 18th amendment, the passage of the seventh
National Finance Commission (NFC) award, and more recently, the Thirty First Amendment Bill that
paves the way for FATA’s merger with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

This decade, however, has not been bereft of civil-military conflict. In fact, events such as the Dawn
Leaks, the multiple military operations during the PPP and the incumbent government’s tenures, the
2011 American operation against Osama Bin Laden and the Memogate Scandal that emerged in the
aftermath of this operation all damaged the already precarious civil-military paradigm, and led to calls
that the country might return to direct military rule.

With the end of the incumbent Parliament’s tenure on the 31st of May, however, it seems that
democracy is finally entrenching itself in Pakistan. All parties seem united on holding elections on the
25th of July, and other state institutions such as the judiciary too seem to be on board with this idea.

As we cast our votes, however, it is important to realise the significance of this moment and the
history that bears down on us as we head to the polls. We must also be cognisant of the fact that it is
only through democracy that Pakistan can truly set itself on the path to prosperity.

Timeline of major political events in Pakistan

Pakistani politics has been experiencing many ups and downs since independence in 1947 with the
power struggle between civilian and military leaders shaping the country’s political arena. Only three
governments have completed their full tenure.

In this August 15, 1947 file photo, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, president of the Pakistan Constituent
Assembly and Governor General of the Dominion of Pakistan, addresses the assembly in Karachi,
Pakistan. Seated at left is Lord Louis Mountbatten, governor general of the Dominion of India.
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In this August 15, 1947 file photo, Muhammed Ali Jinnah, president of the Pakistan Constituent
Assembly and Governor General of the Dominion of Pakistan, addresses the assembly in Karachi,
Pakistan. Seated at left is Lord Louis Mountbatten, governor general of the Dominion of India. (AP)

Pakistan will head to the polls on July 25 to choose a new leader in what will be the second
democratic transition of power in seven decades.

The South Asian nation has been ruled by the military for about half of its history since independence
in 1947.

Ahead of the historic election, we look at major events that have formed the country’s politics.

August 14, 1947 - Muslim League leader Mohammad Ali Jinnah, known as Quaid-e-Azam (Father of
the nation), is sworn in as the first governor-general of Pakistan after British India is divided into two
independent states – the Muslim majority Pakistan (comprising East and West wings) and Hindu-
majority India. Liaquat Ali Khan becomes the first prime minister.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah sits on a dais during ceremonies following his swearing-in as president of the
Assembly and governor-general of the new Dominion of Pakistan at Karachi on August 14, 1947.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah sits on a dais during ceremonies following his swearing-in as president of the
Assembly and governor-general of the new Dominion of Pakistan at Karachi on August 14, 1947.
(AP)

October 16, 1951 - Liaquat Ali Khan, who drafted the Objectives Resolution – a preamble to the
current constitution – is assassinated in Rawalpindi.

1951-1954 - Several prime ministers are sacked over drafting the constitution and defining the role of
various institutions for governance.

March 23, 1956 - Military strongman Iskander Mirza, who played an important role in ousting of
Governor-General Sir Malik Ghulam, is sworn in as the first president and approves Pakistan's first
constitution.

In this October 28, 1957 file photo, President Iskander Mirza of Pakistan (C) after he arrived in
London with his wife Begum Mirza. Lord Harold Alexander of Tunis (L) welcomes them.

In this October 28, 1957 file photo, President Iskander Mirza of Pakistan (C) after he arrived in
London with his wife Begum Mirza. Lord Harold Alexander of Tunis (L) welcomes them. (AP)

October 7, 1958 - Iskander Mirza declares martial law.

October 27, 1958 - Army Commander General Ayub Khan dismisses Mirza in the first successful
coup of the country.

January 2, 1965 - Ayub Khan defeats Fatima Jinnah, sister of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and is re-elected
as president in an election that is marred by allegations of political rigging by the powerful military.

In this December 7, 1959 file photo, US President Dwight D Eisenhower, accompanied by Pakistan's
President Mohammed Ayub Khan, waves to crowd as they ride into Karachi from the airport.

In this December 7, 1959 file photo, US President Dwight D Eisenhower, accompanied by Pakistan's
President Mohammed Ayub Khan, waves to crowd as they ride into Karachi from the airport. (AP)
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March 25, 1969 - Ayub hands over power to Army Chief General Yahya Khan, who imposes martial
law for the second time and dissolves all assemblies, after protests led by politician Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto.

December 7, 1970 - First general elections are held with victory of East Pakistani leader of the Awami
League, raising tensions with the country’s West wing.

March 26, 1971 - Pakistan military experiences one of the heaviest setbacks after tensions between
East Pakistan and West Pakistan over the outcome of the election lead to a war. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
who founded Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), assumes power as country’s only civilian martial law
administrator after Indian intervention in Bangladesh results in separation.

In this February 17, 1969 file photo, former Pakistan foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto speaks to
supporters at the mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam, in Karachi.

In this February 17, 1969 file photo, former Pakistan foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto speaks to
supporters at the mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam, in Karachi. (AP)

December 20, 1971 - Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is elected president

August 14, 1973 - New constitution comes into effect, giving the power of decision-making to the
prime minister and rendering the president as a figurehead. Bhutto, who formulated the constitutional
change, becomes the prime minister and Fazal Ellahi president.

March 7, 1977 - General elections see a victory for Bhutto's party amid rigging allegations.

July 5, 1977 - Bhutto is deposed by then army chief General Ziaul Haq and arrested on charges of
authorising a murder of a political opponent. Zia declares martial law.

April 4, 1979 - Bhutto is hanged in Rawalpindi after a controversial trial on charges of corruption and
extrajudicial killings.

In this December 7, 1982 file photo, US President Ronald Reagan (L) poses with Pakistani Military
Dictator Mohammad Ziaul Haq in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington after a meeting.

In this December 7, 1982 file photo, US President Ronald Reagan (L) poses with Pakistani Military
Dictator Mohammad Ziaul Haq in the Oval Office of the White House, Washington after a meeting.
(AP)

February 28, 1985 - General elections are held on a non-party basis. Zia becomes president as
Muhammad Khan Junejo is appointed prime minister. The new national assembly ratifies Zia's actions
over the last eight years.

August 17, 1988 - Zia dies, along with 31 others, including the US ambassador, in a plane crash.

In this August 19, 1988 file photo, Pakistani army honor guards carry the coffin containing the
remains of late president Muhammad Ziaul Haq at Bahawalpur Airport for Islamabad in Pakistan.

In this August 19, 1988 file photo, Pakistani army honor guards carry the coffin containing the
remains of late president Muhammad Ziaul Haq at Bahawalpur Airport for Islamabad in Pakistan.
(AP)
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November 16, 1988 - Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, wins elections, becoming the
country's first female prime minister.

August 6, 1990 - President Ghulam Ishaq Khan sacks Benazir's government on charges of corruption.

In this November 10, 1988 file photo, Chairperson Benazir Bhutto waves to crowd at a big rally
organised by the workers in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

In this November 10, 1988 file photo, Chairperson Benazir Bhutto waves to crowd at a big rally
organised by the workers in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (AP)

October 24, 1990 - Nawaz Sharif becomes prime minister after the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) – a
coalition of religious parties and the Pakistan Muslim league widely believed to have been engineered
by the military – wins the elections.

April 19, 1993 - Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Sharif's government on charges of corruption.

In this December 29, 1988 file photo, Indian leader Rajiv Gandhi (L) arrives in Pakistan to attend a
summit in Islamabad as Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (R), and President Ghulam Ishaq
Khan (C) welcome him.

In this December 29, 1988 file photo, Indian leader Rajiv Gandhi (L) arrives in Pakistan to attend a
summit in Islamabad as Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (R), and President Ghulam Ishaq
Khan (C) welcome him. (AP)

July 18, 1993 - Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Sharif resign.

October 6, 1993 - Benazir is elected prime minister once again.

November 14, 1993 - Farooq Leghari is elected president.

November 5, 1996 - Leghari dismisses Benazir's government on corruption charges.

In this September 23, 1991 file photo, Diana, the Princess of Wales, and Pakistan's Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif are seen at the Prime Minister's house in Islamabad.

In this September 23, 1991 file photo, Diana, the Princess of Wales, and Pakistan's Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif are seen at the Prime Minister's house in Islamabad. (AP)

February 3, 1997 - Sharif becomes the prime minister for the second time after his party wins a
landslide in general elections.

October 12, 1999 - Chief of Army Staff General Pervez Musharraf stages a coup to topple the civilian
government of Sharif.

May 13, 2000 - Supreme Court justices who take their oath under a Provisional Constitutional Order
validate the military coup in the country.

In this December 15, 1999 file photo, Pakistan's army ruler General Pervez Musharraf addresses the
nation in a televised speech in Islamabad.
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In this December 15, 1999 file photo, Pakistan's army ruler General Pervez Musharraf addresses the
nation in a televised speech in Islamabad. (AP)

June 20, 2001 - General Musharraf becomes president while holding the post of chief of army staff.

April 30, 2002 - Musharraf holds a referendum on staying on as president for another five years. He
wins the majority.

October 10, 2002 - General elections are held under Musharraf's military government. The Pakistan
Muslim League-Q wins most seats. Zafarullah Khan Jamali is sworn in as prime minister.

August 28, 2004 - Shaukat Aziz, then the finance minister, replaces Jamali as prime minister.

October 18, 2007 - Bomb blast targets a PPP reception rally for Benazir as she returns to the country
for an election bid after a reconciliation deal with Musharraf following an eight-year exile.

December 27, 2007 - Benazir is assassinated in a gun and bomb attack after addressing a campaign
rally in Rawalpindi.

In this December 28, 2007 file photo, Asif Ali Zardari, in black clothes and white cap, touches the
coffin of his wife. Pakistan's former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto during her burial at her family's
mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh near Larkana, Pakistan.

In this December 28, 2007 file photo, Asif Ali Zardari, in black clothes and white cap, touches the
coffin of his wife. Pakistan's former prime minister, Benazir Bhutto during her burial at her family's
mausoleum in Garhi Khuda Bakhsh near Larkana, Pakistan. (AP)

February 18, 2008 - Yousuf Raza Gilani is elected prime minister as the PPP wins general elections.

September 6, 2008 - Asif Ali Zardari, the widower of Benazir Bhutto, is elected president.

April 8, 2010 - Zardari hands over power to dissolve assemblies to the prime minister shifting the
country from a semi-presidential system to a complete parliamentary system.

June 19, 2012 - Pakistan Supreme Court disqualifies Gilani from his post after finding him in
contempt of court.

June 22, 2012 - Raja Parvez Ashraf of the PPP is sworn in as prime minister.

May 11, 2013 - General elections are held and Sharif becomes prime minister after his PML-N wins
the polls.

July 28, 2017 - Sharif resigns from office after the Supreme Court disqualifies him over a corruption
case related to ownership of luxury flats in London

August 1, 2017 - PML-N’s Shahid Khaqan Abbasi becomes the new prime minister.

July 14, 2018 - Sharif and daughter Maryam Nawaz are arrested after their return to Lahore from
London, where they were tending to an ailing wife and mother Kulsoom Nawaz.

July 25, 2018 - Elections to be held in Pakistan.

Prime Minister’s post was created at the time of Pakistan’s independence. Since the post of Governor-
General had not been abolished permanently at the beginning, Prime Minister initially did not have all
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executive powers. After the assassination of Pakistan’s first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan in
1951, there came seven different Prime Ministers within a period of six years and all of them were
from Muslims League except Sir Feroz Khan Noon, who was from the Republican Party.

Then after the coup d’état from General Ayub Khan, Prime Minister’s post was abolished for a period
of 13 years and 2 months up till 1971. There was a very short period of recreation of the post when
Nurul Amin was appointed Prime Minister for merely 13 days and alongside him, General Yahya
Khan also illegally made both Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Mujibur Rehman Vice Prime Ministers, but
they never acquired these positions.

Subsequently, the posts had been abolished four more times, all when the military take over occurred.
Currently, under the 18th Amendment passed in 2010, Prime Minister is the head of the state of
Pakistan and holds more power than any other government official, including the President. Here is
the complete list of Prime Ministers of Pakistan since 1947.

1. Liaquat Ali Khan (1896 – 1951)In Office: 14 August 1947 – 16 October 1951Status: Elected
democraticallyPolitical Party: Muslim League Total Duration: 4 Years, 2 Months, 2 Days

2. Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (1894 – 1964)In Office: 17 October 1951 – 17 April 1953Status: Elected
democraticallyPolitical Party: Muslim League Total Duration: 2 Years exactly

3. Muhammad Ali Bogra (1909 – 1963) In Office: 17 April 1953 – 12 August 1955Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Muslim League Total Duration: 2 Years, 2 Months, 26 Days

4. Chaudhry Muhammad Ali (1905 – 1980) In Office: 12 August 1955 – 12 September 1956 Status:
Elected democratically Political Party: Muslim League Total Duration: 1 Year, 1 Month exactly

5. Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (1892 – 1963) In Office: 12 September 1956 – 17 October

1957Status: Elected democracticallyPolitical Party: Awami League Total Duration: 1 Year, 1 Month,
5 Days

6. Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar (1898 – 1968) In Office: 17 October 1957 – 16 December 1957Status:
Elected democratically Political Party: Muslim League Total Duration: 1 Month, 29 Days

7. Sir Feroz Khan Noon (1893 – 1970) In Office: 16 December 1957 – 7 October 1958 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Republican Party Total Duration: 9 Months, 21 Days Post Abolished: 7
October 1958 – 7 December 1971

Total Duration of Abolishment: 13 Years, 2 Months exactly

8. Nurul Amin (1893 – 1974)In Office: 7 December 1971 – 20 December 1971 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League Total Duration: 13 Days Only

Post Abolished: 20 December 1971 – 14 August 1973 Total Duration of Abolishment: 1 Year, 7
Months, 25 Days

9. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928 – 1979) In Office: 14 August 1973 – 5 July 1977 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Peoples Party Total Duration: 3 Years, 10 Months, 21 Days

Post Abolished: 5 July 1977 – 24 March 1985 Total Duration of Abolishment: 7 Years, 8 Months, 19
Days
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10. Muhammad Khan Junejo (1932 – 1993) In Office: 24 March 1985 – 29 May 1988 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Independent; Pakistan Muslim League Total Duration: 3 Years, 2
Months, 5 Days Post Abolished: 29 May 1988 – 2 December 1988 Total Duration of Abolishment: 6
Months, 3 Days

11. Benazir Bhutto (1953 – 2007) In Office: 2 December 1988 – 6 August 1990 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Peoples Party Total Duration: 1 Year, 8 Months, 4 Days

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (1931 – 2009) In Office: 6 August 1990 – 6 November 1990 Status:
Caretaker/Acting Political Party: None Total Duration: 3 Months exactly

12. Nawaz Sharif (Born 1949) In Office: 6 November 1990 – 18 April 1993 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (N), Islami Jamhoori Ittehad *changed later

Total Duration: 2 Years, 5 Months, 12 Days

13-Balakh Sher Mazari (Born 1928)In Office: 18 April 1993 – 26 May 1993 Status: Caretaker/Acting
Political Party: None Total Duration: 1 Month, 8 Days

Nawaz’s Second term as prime minister (1997–1999

Status: Elected democratically Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (N)

Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi (Born 1930) In Office: 18 July 1993 – 19 October 1993 Status:
Caretaker/Acting Political Party: None Total Duration: 3 Months, 1 Day exactly

13. Benazir’s Second Term:In Office: 19 October 1993 – 5 November 1996Status: Elected
democraticallyPolitical Party: Pakistan Peoples PartyTotal Duration: 3 Years, 17 Days

14-Malik Meraj Khalid (1916 – 2003) In Office: 5 November 1996 – 17 February 1997 Status:
Caretaker/Acting Political Party: None Total Duration: 3 Months, 12 Days

14. Nawaz’s second Term: In Office: 17 February 1997 – 12 October 1999 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (N) Total Duration: 2 Years, 7 Months, 23
Days

Post Abolished: 12 October 1999 – 20 November 2002 Total Duration of Abolishment: 3 Years, 1
Month, 8 Days

15. Zafarullah Khan Jamali (Born 1944) In Office: 21 November 2002 – 26 June 2004 Status:
Acting/Appointed by the President Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (Q) Total Duration: 1
Year, 7 Months, 5 Days

16. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (Born 1946) In Office: 30 June 2004 – 20 August 2004 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (Q) Total Duration: 1 Month, 21 Days

17. Shaukat Aziz (Born 1949) In Office: 20 August 2004 – 16 November 2007 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (Q)Total Duration: 3 Years, 2 Months, 27
Days
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Muhammad Mian Soomro (Born 1950) In Office: 16 November 2007 – 25 March 2008 Status:
Caretaker/Acting Political Party: Pakistan Muslim League (Q) Total Duration: 4 Months, 9 Days

18. Yousaf Raza Gillani (Born 1952)In Office: 25 March 2008 – 19 June 2012 Status: Elected
democratically Political Party: Pakistan Peoples Party Total Duration: 4 Years, 2 Months, 25 Days

19. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (1950) Raja Pervaiz Ashraf In Office: 22 June 2012 – 25 March 2013 Status:
Assumed Prime Minister’s role when his predecessor, Yousuf Raza Gilani was disqualified by the
Supreme Court of Pakistan on contempt of court charges.Political Party: Pakistan People’s Party Total
Duration: 9 Months, 3 Days

Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (1929) In Office: 25 March 2013 – 4 June 2013Status: Caretaker Prime
Minister.Political Party: IndependentTotal Duration: 2 Months, 10 Days

20. Mian Muhammad Nazwaz Sharif (1949)

In Office: 5 June 2013 – 28 July 2017Status: Elected Prime Minister.Political Party: Muslim League
(N)Total Duration: 4 years, 1 month, 23 days

21. Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (1958) In Office: 1 August 2017 – 31 May 2018 Status: Caretaker Prime
Minister. Political Party: Muslim League (N) Total Duration: Parliament elected as the PM and to
serve a 50-day period.

Nasirul Mulk (1950) In Office: 1 June 2018 – 18 August 2018 Status: Caretaker/Acting

Political Party: None Total Duration: 2 Months, 18 Days

22. Imran Khan (1952) In Office: 18 August 2018 – continued Status: Elected Prime Minister

Political Party: Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsafTotal Duration: Counting

Longest Time Served by a Prime Minister: Yousuf Raza Gilani (4 Years, 2 Months, 25 Days).
Previously, Liaquat Ali Khan served the longest time as Prime Minister (4 Years, 2 Months, 2 Days).
After aggregating Nawaz Sharif’s three terms, his duration totals up to 4 years, 13 months and 57 days
or 5 years, 2 month and 27 days. After aggregating Benazir Bhutto’s two terms, her duration totals up
to 4 years, 8 months and 21 days. Thus both Nawaz Sharif and Benazir Bhutto are the longest non-
consecutively serving prime ministers.