Politics In Pakistan

Introduction.
Political history of Pakistan.
The Emergence of Pakistan.
Current political Situation in Pakistan.
Political Stability in Pakistan.
Current political Situation in Pakistan.
Constitution and politics of Pakistan.
Independence and first democratic era in Pakistan.
Second democratic era in Pakistan.
Third democratic era in Pakistan.
Fourth democratic era in Pakistan.
Parliamentary democracy.

1970 Pakistan election.

The Role of Political Parties in Political Development of Pakistan.
Political parties in Pakistan.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf.
Pakistan Muslim League – N.
Pakistan People's Party.
Introduction:
The politics of Pakistan takes place within the framework established by the constitution. The country
is a federal parliamentary republic in which provincial governments enjoy a high degree of autonomy
and residuary powers. Executive power is vested with the national cabinet which is headed by the prime
minister, who works coherently along with the bicameral parliament and the judicature. Stipulations set
by the constitution provide a delicate check and balance of sharing powers between executive,
legislative, and judicial branches of the government. The head of state is the president who is elected
by the electoral college for a five year term. The president was a significant authority until the 18th
amendment, passed in 2010, stripped the presidency of its major powers. Since then, Pakistan has been
shifted from a Semi presidential system to a purely parliamentary government.

Political history of Pakistan:

When Pakistan became a country on August 14th, 1947, to form the largest Muslim state in the world at
that time. The creation of Pakistan was catalyst to the largest demographic movement in recorded
history. Nearly seventeen million people-Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs-are reported to have moved in
both directions between India and the two wings of Pakistan (the eastern wing is now Bangladesh).
Sixty million of the ninety-five million Muslims on the Indian subcontinent became citizens of Pakistan
at the time of its creation. Subsequently, thirty-five million Muslims remained inside India making it
the largest Muslim minority in a non-Muslim state.
Scarred from birth, Pakistan's quest for survival has been as compelling as it has been uncertain.
Despite the shared religion of its overwhelmingly Muslim population, Pakistan has been engaged in a
precarious struggle to define a national identity and evolve a political system for its linguistically
diverse population. Pakistan is known to have over twenty languages and over 300 distinct dialects,
Urdu and English are the official languages but Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, Baluchi and Seraiki are
considered main languages. This diversity has caused chronic regional tensions and successive failures
in forming a constitution. Pakistan has also been burdened by full-scale wars with India, a strategically
exposed northwestern frontier, and series of economic crises. It has difficulty allocating its scarce
economic and natural resources in an equitable manner
The Emergence of Pakistan:

The roots of Pakistan's multifaceted problems can be traced to March 1940 when the All-India Muslim
League formally orchestrated the demand for a Pakistan consisting of Muslim-majority provinces in the
northwest and northeast of India. By asserting that the Indian Muslims were a nation, not a minority,
the Muslim League and its leader, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, had hoped to negotiate a constitutional
arrangement that provided an equitable share of power between Hindus and Muslims once the British
relinquished control of India. The demand for a "Pakistan" was Jinnah's and the League's bid to register
their claim to be the spokesmen of all Indian Muslims, both in provinces were they were in a majority
as well as in provinces where they were a minority. Jinnah and the League's main bases of support,
however, were in the Muslim-minority provinces. In the 1937 general elections, the league had met a
serious rejection from the Muslim voters in the majority provinces.

Current political Situation in Pakistan:

Pakistan continues to face multiple sources of internal and external conflict. While incidences of
domestic terrorism have reduced, in part due to measures taken by the Pakistani state, extremism and
intolerance of diversity has grown. There is some recognition by the state that instead of merely kinetic
responses holistic counterterrorism policies are needed to counteract this trend. The growing extremism
has been fueled by a narrow vision of Pakistan’s national identity, threatening the country’s prospect for
social cohesion and stability. The inability of state institutions to reliably provide peaceful ways to
resolve grievances has encouraged groups to seek violence as a legitimate alternative. While peaceful
political transitions occurred in both 2013 and 2018, the country is still facing mounting debt crisis and
a perennial trade imbalance on the economic front.Furthermore, Pakistan’s high-profile disputes with
neighboring India and Afghanistan have periodically resulted in violence and continue to pose a threat
to regional and international security.

Political Stability in Pakistan:

Since the emergence of Pakistan as an independent state, the country has been engulfed in numerous
instances of political turmoil and instability. The civil unrest caused over the course of six decades has
not only hampered economic growth but has further deteriorated the image and progress of the country
according to World Bank Indicators. With low productivity growth comes a higher rate of corruption
and therefore increased instability within the country. This virtuous cycle is impossible to break until
the root cause of the political instability is found and resolved. Political institutions and other political
factors play a vital role in determining this variable.
Economic interactions are characterised by some form of exchange between economic agents involved
in the process. This exchange has a monetary or intangible cost attached to it. In order to make this
economic process less costly and ultimately lead to economic growth, there has to be an underlying
institutional structure to facilitate exchange. Political institutions are therefore in place to determine the
distribution of political power which in turn influences economic institutions established in the
economy. Institutions usually serve the interests of the political elite in the country but if they are
established through collective decision they serve the needs of the masses. An example of this is lack of
property rights for landowners and merchants in Europe during the middle ages. Political institutions at
the time gave political power to monarchs and landlords. Consequently the allocation of resources was
such that economic institutions that were developed failed to foster economic growth and instead
strengthened the stronghold of elites on the economy.

Constitution and politics of Pakistan:

The constitution proclaims Pakistan to be Islamic and democratic, with fundamental rights guaranteed,
including the freedoms of thought, speech, religion and worship, assembly, association, and the press,
as well as equality of status.
Under this constitution, the President is head of state and is elected for five years by an electoral college
consisting of the members of both houses of parliament and of the four provincial assemblies. Until
April 1997, the President had certain discretionary powers including the power to dissolve the National
Assembly. These powers were restored by the military government immediately before the elections in
October 2002 through the Legal Framework Order (LFO) together with other amendments. Under the
eighteenth amendment of April 2010, however, the President’s role once again became largely
ceremonial.
There is a bicameral legislature. The lower house is the National Assembly. From 2002 the Assembly
had 342 members, comprising 272 members directly elected for five years by adult suffrage, plus 60
women and ten representatives of minorities (non-Muslims). These seats reserved for women and
minorities’ representatives are allocated proportionally to all parties gaining more than five per cent of
the directly elected seats. The Prime Minister is elected by the National Assembly. The upper house, the
Senate, has 100 members (previously 87) elected for six years with about half of them retiring every
three years. Each of the four provinces elects 22 senators, including four women and four technocrats;
the remaining 12 are elected from the Federal Capital Territory and the tribal areas. Legal constitutional
change requires the support of two-thirds of the total membership of the National Assembly and the
Senate.

Independence and first democratic era in Pakistan:

The Indian subcontinent is partitioned into mainly Muslim Pakistan and mainly Hindu India. The
government is headed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah as Governor-General, with Liaquat Ali Khan serving
as Prime Minister. A constituent assembly is formed to act as both parliament and to draft a
constitution.
Long suffering from Tuberculosis, Muhammad Ali Jinnah dies. He is replaced by Khwaja Nazimuddin.
Pakistan gets its first constitution, turning the country from an autonomous dominion into an "Islamic
Republic".

Second democratic era in Pakistan:

Martial Law is lifted. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto is elected as president. He also launches Pakistan's nuclear
programme.A new constitution is enacted, declaring Pakistan a parliamentary democracy, with a prime
minister as head of state, leading a bi-cameral legislature. Bhutto goes from president to prime
minister.Bhutto appoints General Zia-ul-Haq as his chief of army staff.General elections are held, with
the Bhutto's party winning the majority of seats in the national assembly. Amid unrest following
allegations of vote-rigging from the opposition, General Zia-ul-Haq steps in, removing Bhutto in a
coup, suspending the constitution and declaring martial law.

Third democratic era in Pakistan:

In 1988 general elections are held, with the PPP (led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's daughter, Benazir)
winning a majority of seats. Bhutto is sworn in as prime minister.President Ghulam Ishaq Khan
dissolves the National Assembly, dismissing Bhutto's government on charges of alleged corruption and
incompetence. Fresh elections are held, and Nawaz Sharif, groomed under Zia as the head of the Islami
Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI), is elected prime minister.

The National Assembly adopts the Shariat bill, codifying elements of Islamic law into Pakistan's legal
system.

Nawaz's government initiates a military operation against violence in Karachi, the country's largest city.
The operation is largely seen to target members of the Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), a political
party with its base in the city.

President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dismisses Sharif's government for alleged corruption and incompetence.
He himself resigns later in the year. General elections are held, with Benazir Bhutto elected prime
minister for her second term. Farooq Leghari, a member of the PPP, is elected as the country's
president.

President Farooq Leghari dissolves the National Assembly, dismissing Benazir Bhutto's government,
which was operating under a cloud of corruption allegations.

In 1997 general elections are held, the fourth time such polls have taken place since 1988. Nawaz
Sharif's PML-N party wins in a landslide, and he is elected prime minister for the second time. Rafiq
Tarar is sworn in as President the next year.

Pakistan conducts nuclear tests in the Chaghai Hills of Balochistan, in response to similar Indian tests
days earlier. The international community imposes strict economic sanctions on the country in
response.

Fourth democratic era in Pakistan:

In 2008 general elections are held, with the PPP winning the majority of seats in the national assembly.
Yousuf Raza Gilani is elected prime minister, with Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto's widower and now co-
chairman of the PPP, replacing Musharraf as president.

After heightening tensions over the issue, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and his colleagues in the
judiciary are restored to their positions, having been dismissed by Pervez Musharraf after his 2007 state
of emergency.

Pakistan's parliament passes the 18th amendment to the 1973 consitution, which, among other things,
reverses some of the changes brought about by Musharraf and also removes the President's power to
dissolve the parliament unilaterally under Article 58-2(b).

Caught amidst scandals involving both corruption probes and the so-called "Memogate" affair, the PPP
government comes under increasing pressure from the opposition to hold early elections.
After being found guilty of having committed contempt of court for not implementing a Supreme Court
order to reopen a corruption case involving President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza
Gilani is deemed to be ineligible to hold public office. He loses his seat in parliament, but not before he
becomes the longest serving prime minister in Pakistan's history. He is succeeded as PM by Raja
Pervez Ashraf, another leading PPP member and Zardari loyalist.

The PPP-led coalition government becomes Pakistan's first democratically elected civilian-led
government to complete its five-year term in office. A caretaker government is appointed and a general
election is set for May 11.

Parliamentary democracy:

After the independence, Liaquat Ali Khan became the first prime minister and Jinnah became the
first Governor-General. Pakistan consisted of two wings, West-Pakistan and East-Pakistan. The Liaqat
government, along with all subsequent governments during that first decade after independence, faced
serious difficulties effectively governing in both East and West Pakistan, eventually leading to the
military coup of 1958.[1] The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 began to take place in Kashmir region in
1947. Both Liaquat and Jinnah were determined to stop the riots and refugee problems and to set up an
effective administrative system for the country. Liaquat Ali Khan did the groundbreaking work for the
Foreign Policy of Pakistan while taking initiatives towards the formulation of the constitution. He
presented The Objectives Resolution, a prelude to future constitutions, in the Legislative Assembly. The
house passed it on 12 March 1949. It has been described as the "Magna Carta" of Pakistan's
constitutional history. Both United States and Soviet Union sent invitation to Liaqat Ali Khan.
However, Khan chose to first pay a goodwill visit to United States. This was perceived as a rebuff to
Moscow, and has been traced to profound adverse consequences. Khan had wanted Pakistan to remain
neutral in the Cold War, as declared three days after Pakistan's independence when he declared that
Pakistan would take no sides in the conflict of ideologies between the nations. Khan later tried to visit
Soviet Union but the dates for goodwill visit were not materialized by Soviet Union.
The same year, Jinnah declared Urdu as official language of Pakistan. It sparked protests in East
Pakistan (formerly East Bengal), where Bengali was spoken by most of the population. Jinnah also
faced problems with Pakistan Army's Commander-in-Chief General Sir Douglas Gracey who refused to
obey the orders of Jinnah. General Gracey argued that Jinnah as Governor-General represented the
British Crown of which he himself was an appointee. Therefore, he did not send troops
to Kashmir region. Jinnah also faced problems with Commander-in-Chief of the Air Force Air Vice-
Marshal Richard Atcherley and Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Rear Admiral James Wilfred
Jefford who also refused to obey standing orders given by Jinnah.
During Khan's tenure, India and Pakistan agreed to resolve the dispute of Kashmir in a peaceful manner
through the efforts of the United Nations. According to this agreement a ceasefire was effected in
Kashmir on January 1, 1949. It was decided that a free and impartial plebiscite would be held under the
supervision of the UN.
In 1948, Jinnah died, and a major problem of religious minorities flared during late 1949 and early
1950. Militants from Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan began to attack the minorities in West-Pakistan, which
later slipped to India. Sensing another war with India, Khan met Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal
Nehru to sign the Liaquat-Nehru Pact in 1950. The pact was an effort to improve relations and reduce
tension between India and Pakistan, and to protect the religious minorities on both sides of the borders.

1970 Pakistan election:

After the indecisive war of 1965 with India, Pakistani people began to accuse Field Marshal Ayub Khan
of betraying the cause of Kashmir. Months after the war, Munir Ahmad Khan, a nuclear engineer at
IAEA's Reactor Division, met with Bhutto where he notified Bhutto with rapid development of Indian
nuclear programme. Sensing the seriousness of such threat, Bhutto arranged a meeting between Munir
Ahmad Khan and Ayub Khan at The Dorchester in London. Khan urged the need of acceleration of
nuclear energy programme and develop a credible nuclear deterrent capability. Ayub Khan refused
accelerating the programme, and famously said: if we [Pakistan] ever need the [atom] bomb, we
[Pakistan] will buy it off the shelf". Munir Ahmad Khan quickly notified Bhutto of what had happened.
And, Bhutto began lobbying for the nuclear weapon's option. However, due to economical reasons,
Khan deferred and refused to expand the nuclear energy programme despite the proposals made by
Bhutto, Salam and Munir Khan. With extensive efforts led by Abdus Salam, Khan had personally
approved the KANUPP-I commercial plant, against the wishes of his own military government. In
1966, Ayub Khan removed Bhutto as his Foreign minister, in a conspiracy planned by Jurist and then-
Bhutto's secretary Mushtaq Hussain, and under pressured by the Lyndon Johnson, President of the
United States that time. In 1967, Bhutto formed People's Party of Pakistan and tapped a wave of anti-
Ayub Khan movement in both West and East Pakistan. Demoralized and pressured, Ayub Khan handed
over the regime to his junior Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army General Yahya Khan in 1969.
General Yahya designated himself as Chief Martial Law Administrator of the country and installed a
military government in both East and West-Pakistan. Yahya and his military government promised to
hold a general election within 2 years. The General parliamentary elections were held in 1970, with
People's Party winning the majority in West-Pakistan and Awami League [People's League] gaining
absolute majority in East-Pakistan.

The Role of Political Parties in Political Development of Pakistan:

Political parties are the most imperative element of the political system in determining the direction,
nature and level of political development. The goals and objectives of political development cannot be
achieved without political parties. They are basically institution of society, while military and
bureaucracy are institutions of the state. In the developing countries, like Pakistan, The Role of Political
Parties in Political Development of Pakistan 177 few state institutions are strong enough to counter the
influence of society and its representative governments. If the representative institutions are weak, they
will be unable to protect the interests of society. Natural result of this weakness will be the domination
of other institutions of the state. This successively weakens the political system of society. Political
development also suffers due to such state of affairs. According to Weiner (1962), political system of
any country depends on the fact that who is controlling and allocating the resources. In countries with
empowered democratic institutions, political forces take control of resources and lead the country
towards political development. The political history of Pakistan clearly indicates the dominance of state
institutions over political parties. Since getting independence in 1947, Pakistan has witnessed three
different martial law periods from 1958 to 1971, 1977 to 1988 and 1999 to 2007. Even, military
dictators nurtured few political parties to gain political support and manipulated them to prolong their
dictatorships (Cohen, 2004). But mainstream political parties like Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Awami
League and Awami National Party (ANP) did pose resistance to dictatorial regimes. Due to the struggle
of such parties, for the first time a smooth transition of power from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to
Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) was made possible after general elections in 2013. This
study attempts to evaluate the role and functions of political parties in Pakistan. It specifically analyzes
the role of political parties in Pakistan regarding political development.

Political parties in Pakistan:

Pakistan is a multi-party democracy. The country has many political parties and it is common for the
country to be ruled by a coalition government. The Parliament of Pakistan is bicameral, consisting of
the National Assembly of Pakistan and the Senate. The main political parties in Pakistan are listed
below
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf:
Imran Khan leads Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (Pakistan Movement for Justice) under the slogan:
"Change". On 25 April 1996, in Lahore, the PTI, a social democratic and Third Way political
movement, was founded by Imran Khan. The PTI boycotted the 2008 elections but became more
politically active by 2011. The PTI claims to represent all Pakistanis regardless of religion, ethnicity,
language or residence. It aims to create a modern, egalitarian, Islamic democratic and welfare state.[1]
[2][3] The PTI promotes a nationalist agenda, arguing that terrorism, extremism and radicalism have
increased since Pakistan joined the War on Terror. The Party emerged as country's second most popular
party in 2013 elections. It is currently the ruling party in the country. In 2018 General Elections, Imran
Khan became the Prime Minister of Pakistan and PTI secured 116 seats in National Assembly and made
a clean sweep in KPK by taking 63 seats in Provincial Assembly. PTI also formed Government in
Punjab, took majority of seats in the largest city of Karachi and collaborated with Government in
Balochistan.
Pakistan Muslim League - N:
Pakistan Muslim League (N) is a large Centre-Right, political party of Pakistan, tracing its history to
the All-India Muslim League that played a central role in the creation of Pakistan under the leadership
of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Pakistan Muslim League re-emerged onto the national
political scene in Pakistan as part of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad coalition against the Pakistan Peoples
Party in the elections held in 1988. PML-N served two terms in the 1990s with Nawaz Sharif as the
Prime Minister. His second term in office was cut short by a military coup d'état led by General
Musharraf. PML-N boycotted the general elections in 2002. In the 2008 elections, PML-N formed
government in the province of Punjab. In 2013 elections, the PML-N secured a majority in the National
Assembly. It formed government in the center, Punjab and a coalition government in the province of
Balochistan, followed by governments in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan. Nawaz
Sharif was elected Prime Minister for the third time in 2013. In the general elections of 2018, PTI
completely marginalised it by winning majority of seats and making government in center and three of
the provinces.
Pakistan People's Party:
On 30 November 1967, the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a democratic socialist party, was founded by
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928 - 1979). The PPP ran in the 1970 general election with a socialist agenda of
Roti, Kapra, Makan (Food, clothes, shelter). It favoured ties with China over the Western nations and
ruled Pakistan after the Fall of Dhaka. After completion of first parliamentary term, the PPP succeeded
in the Elections of 1977 but were quickly overthrown by Zia ul Haq. Under Benazir Bhutto, the PPP
became a secular party that promoted Social Liberalism as well as privatisation in order to secure
funding from the US and the World Bank. From March 2008 to March 2013, it was leading party of the
ruling coalition. Party faced defeat in elections of 2013. The PPP currently holds 41 senate seats and 42
national assembly seats.