There has been no Prime Minister in Pakistan who has completed the five-year term ever since the country was separated from India back in 1947. In fact, the popular saying that goes around at present is that the position on “wazir-e-Azam” in the country is jinxed.
Once again, the country is overrun with chaos as Imran Khan is about to face a no-confidence motion after he tried to dissolve the National Assembly. From military coups to assassinations, the nation’s PMs have seen it all in the years since independence.
Rocky start for the new nation
The nation has seen a frequent change of PM at the top ever since it came out of India back in 1947. Democracy kept struggling to resurface in the Islamic nation with a strong military. There was a constant struggle to take charge between the minor parties and the Muslim League. As a result, there were four Pakistan Prime Ministers between 1951 – 1956.
Democracy continued to be nothing more than a dream for the new nation with military rules from 1958 to 1973. Military rule was established once more in 1977 after PM Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was assassinated.
Pakistan political crisis: The assassinated PMs
The Pakistan constitutional crisis is nothing new. While none of their PMs could complete five years in the office, three of them couldn’t do that because they got assassinated. The first assassination was of Liaquat Ali Khan.
Military General Zia-Ul-Haq did not pay heed to the Pakistan election and took Zulfikar Ali Bhutto hostage. Bhutto was later assassinated, and the same fate awaited his daughter, Benazir Bhutto, the first elected female Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Military rules who made headlines in Pakistan news
President Iskander Mirza was compelled to give up the post by Mohammed Ayub Khan, the first Army General of the nation. After Khan took charge of the nation in 1958, he gave shape to the constitution and abolished the post of wazir-e-Alam. Thus, Pakistan was left without a PM in Pakistan election history from 1958 to 1973.
For some time, Army General Yahya Khan made Nurul Amin the nation’s PM. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto replaced Yahya Khan as the President.
Pakistan opposition leaders had nothing to say after the 1973 elections ensured a clear victory for Bhutto. He became the PM and adopted a new constitution with parliamentary democracy. However, the democracy was short-lived because general Muhammad Zia ul Haq took over the charge in 1977 and assassinated Bhutto in 1978.
Benazir Bhutto: The first female PM of Pakistan
Bhutto’s daughter, Benazir Bhutto, was the youngest and the first elected female Prime Minister of Pakistan back in 1988. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan sacked her after two years on corruption charges.
During her second stint as a PM in 1993, he opened schools and brought several reforms. However, her rule was short-lived because she was again sacked in 1996 on corruption charges brought by President Farooq Ahmad Leghari. Finally, she was assassinated on December 27, 2007 during one of her election rallies.