Explained: History of Pakistan’s Prime Ministers since 1947

New Delhi: Imran Khan, the former cricketer turned politician took over the Prime Minister’s chair in 2018 with a promise to tackle corruption and cronyism. However, his mismanagement amid the rise in living costs, ballooning foreign debts, and other scandals have made him lose the support of some of his popular favours. Analysts suspect that he may have lost support from the military, a crucial banker of any Pakistan president.

The now Prime Minister of Pakistan is on the verge of getting removed from his office this weekend after the country’s top court ruled his move to block a non-confidence vote unconstitutional. Like every other time, Imran Khan is in the jinx of not completing a full term. So far the Prime Ministers in Pakistan have a history of troubled politics owing to the Army’s long stints in power.

Here are the 10 points that will sum up the history of the Pakistani Prime Ministership:

1. Since the independence of Pakistan in 1947, no Pakistani Prime Minister has completed a five-year term. Three PMs have completed four years in office while five including Imran Khan have remained in office for at least three years.
2. There was a total of 19 Prime Ministers in Pakistan to date. Nawaz Sharif was appointed as a PM for three years while his arch-rival Benazir Bhutto held the office twice. However, both these leaders could not complete their full terms. Besides, there have been seven caretaker Prime Ministers.
3. The Pakistan Army overthrew three civilian governments. In 1958, the Feroz Khan Noon government was dismissed and Martial Law was established under Gen Ayub Khan. In July 1977, General Zia ul Haq defeated Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in a coup codenamed “Operation Fairplay.” Moreover, General Pervez Musharraf overthrew Nawaz Sharif in October 1999.
4. Pakistan witnessed four army chiefs as President and they ruled the country for 32 years of 75 years. Besides, serving as the army chief General Zia was President between 1978 and 1988. Gen Yahya Khan remained the army chief-cum-president from 1969 to 1971. Again, Gen Musharraf held the chair between 2001 and 2007. Moreover, Ayub Khan promoted himself to the rank of Field Marshal after becoming President.
5. In total, five Prime Ministers have served under a military president to date. For the first time, Nurul Amin briefly served as Prime Minister under Gen Yahya Khan. Shaukat Aziz (2004-2007) was the last Prime Minister to serve under an army chief-cum-president.
6. Nawaz Sharif served as PM for three consecutive years, adding up to nine and a half years. However, during this period, he lost his position twice that is in 1993 and 2017 on charges of corruption. He also had to face a military coup in 1999.
7. The first Prime Minister of Pakistan, Liaquat Ali Khan ruled for the single longest term. He remained in the chair for 1,524 days before being assassinated on October 16, 1951. He is the only Pakistan PM to die in office.
8. During the 1971 war, a prominent Bengali politician, Nurul Amin served as a Prime Minister for just 13 days. He also served as the Vice President between 1971 and 1973, the only Pakistani to have held the position.
9. It took 23 years for Pakistan to hold its first general elections. In 1970, when the polls were conducted the Awami League won all however two seats in East Pakistan and the Pakistan Peoples Party secured a majority in West Pakistan. The following political chaos led to the creation of Bangladesh.
10. The first 11 years of Pakistan had seven Prime Ministers. After the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951, six people held the Prime Minister’s chair in the subsequent seven years. During the troublesome 1950s, Mohammad Ali Bogra held the position for the longest period – two years and 117 days.