Imran Khan’s fall no surprise; no Pak PM has completed 5 years in office

No Prime Minister in Pakistan has completed the five-year term since the country got separated from India in 1947, which makes one believe that the throne of the ‘wazir e azam’ could be jinxed.

The country is once again in chaos after Imran Khan, through President Arif Alvi, dissolved the elected government and called for fresh elections.

Shaky beginning for a new nation

Pakistan has been witness to frequent change of guard at the top since it was carved out of India in 1947 with democracy struggling to establish itself in the Islamic country amid a powerful military.

The constant struggle for authority between the Muslim League and other emerging parties resulted in Pakistan having four prime ministers between 1951 and 1956.

Democracy was still a distant dream for the nascent state with military rules between 1958 and 1973 and once again in 1977 after the assassination of then PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Pakistan Prime Ministers who were assassinated

While none of the PMs could complete their tenure, three failed to do so because they were assassinated. Liaquat Ali Khan was the first to be killed.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was taken hostage by Military General Zia-Ul-Haq and was later assassinated. Bhutto’s daughter and the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, too was assassinated.

Military rulers

Mohammed Ayub Khan was the first Army General of Pakistan who compelled then President Iskander Mirza to give up his post.

Mohammed Ayub Khan took charge of the country in 1958 and in 1962 gave shape to a new Constitution which got rid of the post of wazir e alam or the Prime Minister.

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As a consequence, Pakistan had no PM from between 1958 and 1973. For a brief period, army general Yahya Khan appointed Nurul Amin as the PM. There was hope for return of democracy after Yahya Khan resigned as the President following Pakistan’s defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation war. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto replaced him as the President.

Elections in 1973 gave a clear mandate to Bhutto, who became the Prime Minister. A new Constitution was adopted which established parliamentary democracy in the Islamic nation. However, people’s rule had a short shelf life as a coup in 1977 brought back military rule with general Muhammad Zia ul Haq taking over as the President. Haq assassinated Bhutto a year later.

Muhammad Khan Junejo was appointed PM, but Zia-ul-Haq removed him in three years.

Rule of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s daughter Benazir became the youngest and the first democratically-elected woman Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1988. She was sacked by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in just two years following corruption charges.

Her second stint started in 1993 but ended abruptly in 1996 again following corruption charges levelled by President Farooq Ahmad Leghari.

In between, Nawaz Sharif became the PM in 1990 but lost power after Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly in 1993.

Sharif again won the elections with a big majority in 1997, but General Pervez Musharraf, who was appointed by Musharraf himself, effected a coup in 1999 and removed him.

Sharif’s third stint began after winning the 2013 general elections, but the Panama Papers scandal led to his disqualification by the Supreme Court. In 2018, Sharif was convicted of having disproportionate assets and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Between 2002 and 2022, Pakistan has had 7 Prime Ministers. Yousaf Raza Gillani had the longest stint (2008 to 2012).

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Moeenuddin Qureshi (July 18, 1993-October 19, 1993), Zafarullah Khan Jamali (2002 to 2004), Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (June 30, 2004-August 27, 2004), Shaukat Aziz (2004 to 2007), Raja Pervez Ashraf (2012 to 2013) and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (2017 to 2018) had short stints in between.

Imran Khan

After Sharif resigned owing to his involvement in the Panama papers scam, Imran Khan became the PM in 2018. He was the darling of the Pakistani Army until their relations soured and as things stand today, Imran Khan could not face a no confidence motion in the National Assembly because he had lost support of his alliance partners and his party, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf (PTI) was reduced to minority. President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the proposal of Imran Khan.

Khan will remain the Prime Minister till the appointment of a caretaker PM under Article 224 A of the Pakistan Constitution.