Pakistan also known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, came into being on 14 august 1947 and is the world's second country to have most Muslims. Since independence, Pakistan's political situation has always been chaotic as only three government parties have completed their tenure of governing.
Quaid
was the first gov-gen of Pakistan and Liaquat Ali Khan was the prime minister
but he was assassinated in Rawalpindi in Oct 1951. The situation after the
murder of Liaquat Ali Khan was unrest till 1954 when Iskandar Ali Mirza became
the Prime Minister and passed the first constitution. In the year of 1965,
Pakistan's first military coup overthrew the democratically elected government
of President Ayyub Khan. After many years, Pakistan was again bombed by The
United States in order to topple its government in 1979. Pakistan’s political
history since independence has been characterized by periods of military rule,
as well as by unstable civilian governments. Pakistan’s first constitution was
promulgated in 1956, but it was abrogated two years later by Gen. Ayyub Khan,
who imposed martial law. During the 1980s, Pakistan was ruled by military
dictator Gen. Zia ul-Haq, who instituted Islamic law and promoted Islamist
groups. Since the late 1990s, Pakistan has been alternately governed by
civilian governments and military regimes. Pakistan's first military ruler
General Ayyub Khan was accused of authoritarianism. In 1971, Gen Ayyub Khan was
ousted in another coup, this time by General Yahya Khan. Yahya Khan's rule was
short-lived, as he oversaw the disastrous Bangladesh War which led to the
creation of Bangladesh. In 1973, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali
Bhutto, a civilian leader who had served as Pakistan's foreign minister.
Bhutto's rule was marked by economic reforms and an expansion of civil
liberties. However, he faced opposition from Islamists and the military. In
1977, Bhutto was deposed in a military coup led by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.
Zia-ul-Haq's regime was characterized by Islamization and repression. He
enacted strict anti-blasphemy laws and promoted conservative values. Zia-al-Haq
died in 1988 in a plane crash, and Bhutto’s successor Benazir Bhutto became
Pakistan's first female prime minister. Bhutto's government was plagued by
corruption and economic problems. In 1990, she was ousted in charges of
corruption by President Ghulam Ishaque Khan and Nawaz Sharif became the Prime
Minister of Pakistan but he was also dismissed by Ghulam Ishaque Khan on the
same charges as Bhutto.
Later in July 1983, Nawaz Sharif and Ghulam Ishaque Khan
resigned and Benazir again became the Prime Minister of Pakistan in Oct 1993.
Farooq Leghari who was the president of that time dismissed Bhutto’s government
again on corruption charges. This was a win-win situation for the Sharif family as
Nawaz Sharif was again elected as Prime Minister. General Pervez Musharraf who
was the Army General of the time, tried to dismiss Sharif’s government through a coup. He also became the President while being Army Chief because he won a majority. In October 2002, Zafarullah Khan Jamali became the Prime Minister who
got replaced by Shaukat Aziz in August 2004. Benazir came back to Pakistan
following a specific deal with General Musharraf including an eight-year exile but
she was assassinated in December 2007 in Rawalpindi during a rally. From February
2008 to June 2012, PPP stayed in the government because of people’s support but
Nawaz Sharif became the Prime Minister in 2013 after winning elections. Sharif
was disqualified by the Supreme Court in 2017 on allegations of having luxury
flats in London and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi became the Prime Minister after him. Nawaz Sharif and his daughter Maryam Nawaz were
arrested after their return to Lahore from London, where they were tending to
an ailing wife and mother Kulsoom Nawaz in July 2018. Imran
Khan, who was elected in 2018. He led the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.
The PTI came to power after winning a majority of seats in the National
Assembly in the 2018 election. The main opposition party in Pakistan
is the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). The PPP has been one of the most
influential political parties in Pakistan since it was founded in 1967. It is
currently led by Bilawal Zardari, who is also the son of former Pakistani Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto. Currently, Mian Shehbaz Sharif is the Prime Minister of
Pakistan after winning against Imran Khan in assembly votes and through the
help of all democratic parties who played a major role in dissolving Imran
Khan’s rule.
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