DNA Explainer: No Pakistan PM has completed 5-year term in 75 years, here's why

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President Imran Khan has been denotified as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, that is, he is no longer at the helm of affairs. After President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on  April 3, on the advice of PM Imran Khan, the Cabinet Division issued a statement in this regard.

However, once a notification is issued under Article 224 of the Constitution of Pakistan, Imran Khan will remain the Prime Minister for 15 days till a caretaker PM is appointed. Even if Imran Khan will remain in the post of Prime Minister for a few days, yet he will have no right to make decisions, that the head of an elected government can do.

Read | What could be the impact of Imran Khan's exit on Pakistan's neighbours

How Article 5 saved Imran Khan of no-confidence motion

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At the start of the National Assembly session, when the lower house was to vote on the no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Imran Khan, Law Minister Fawad Chaudhry read out Article 5 of the constitution and accused the Opposition of disloyalty to the state.

Deputy Speaker Qasim Suri then quickly disallowed voting on the no-trust motion and adjourned the session indefinitely. Article 5 of the constitution of Pakistan reads:

Loyalty to State and obedience to Constitution and law.

(1) Loyalty to the State is the basic duty of every citizen.

(2) Obedience to the Constitution and law is the 10[inviolable] 10 obligation of every citizen wherever he may be and of every other person for the time being within Pakistan.

How Pakistan is different from India?

Both Pakistan and India became independent nations in the same year 1947, within one day's gap. Despite this, they have had vastly different trajectories. No Pakistani Prime Minister has ever been able to complete a full-term in office, unlike India which is the world's largest democracy.

The first Prime Minister of Pakistan and Defence Minister Liaqat Ali Khan's tenure was cut short in 1951 with his assassination on October 16, the same year. Many former prime ministers of Pakistan left office due to their governments being dissolved or dismissed or imposition of martial law.

Many also resigned from their office and remaining others were disqualified by the Pakistan Supreme Court. Imran Khan also could not complete his full tenure as the Prime Minister. He remained in office for three years and 228 days. 

No Pak PM could complete 5 years term

The post of the Prime Minister in Pakistan can be said to be doomed as it carries a bizarre pattern. Pakistan has one historic record to its name and that is no elected Prime Minister has successfully completed their 5-year tenure till date, except the ones who were appointed to temporarily replace the ousted PMs.

This means over the last 75 years, right from 1947 to 2018, no Pakistani Prime Minister has had the privilege of complete the full 5-year term in office and the tenure for Imran Khan has also been cut short just like his political ancestors. Here's Pakistan's political lineage over the last 75 years

Liaquat Ali Khan (August 14, 1947-October 16, 1951)

Liaquat Khan was one of the founding fathers of Pakistan and he has the honour of being the longest serving Prime Minister, Pakistan has ever seen. The PM of four years and two months was assassinated at Rawalpindi's Company Bagh during a public meeting of the Muslim City League.  

Liaqat Ali Khan's tenure was marred by the Bengali population's resentment of the non-acceptance of Bengali as an official language, the domination of bureaucracy by non-Bengalis and appropriation of province-related functions and revenue by the central government.  

Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin (October 17, 1951-April 17, 1953)

Khawaja Nazimuddin succeeded Liaquat Khan as the second Prime Minister after his assassination. As the Prime Minister, Nazimuddin appointed Malik Ghulam Muhammad as the Governor-General. But in 1953, the Governor General used his discretionary powers under the provisional constitution and cut short Nazimuddin's tenure in office by dissolving the government.

Mohammad Ali Bogra (April 17, 1953-August 12, 1955)

After Nazimuddin's dismissal, the Governor-General appointed Mohammad Ali Bogra as the new Prime Minister. But two years later, the then acting Governor-General Iskander Mirza dismissed the previous governer and Prime Minister Bogra, dispatching the latter to the US as Pakistan's ambassador.

Chaudhry Mohammad Ali (August 12, 1955-September 12, 1956)

Pakistan adopted its constitution in Muhammad Ali's tenure, but he eventually resigned from office after he fell out of favour with his own party, the Muslim League, which passed a no-confidence motion against him.

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (September 12, 1956-October 17, 1957)

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After Chaudhry's resignation, Huseyn Suhrawardy became the Prime Minister when he joined hands with the Muslim League and the Republican Party. But he followed his predecessor's footsteps, as he too fell out of favour with his own party and had differences with President Iskander Mirza, which caused him to resign.

Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar (October 17, 1957-December 16, 1957)

Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar was appointed the next Prime Minister but just 55 days later, he lost a vote of confidence in the National Assembly, because of which he was forced to resign.

Feroz Khan Noon (December 16, 1957-October 7, 1958)

Feroz Khan Noon was handpicked by President Iskander Mirza to be the Prime Minister. But their relationship soured over time and on October 7, 1958, the President dismissed Feroz Khan from his Prime Ministerial post and declared a martial rule in Pakistan.

He dissolved the legislature and appointed General Ayub Khan as the Chief Martial Law Administrator and nominated him to be the PM. Ayub Khan combined the offices of PM and President and the coup was taken well, as it was more stable than the rotating Prime Ministers. 

Nurul Amin (December 7, 1971-December 20, 1971)

As the Bangladesh Liberation War was unfolding, Nurul Amin was appointed Prime Minister by President General Yahya Khan, on the request of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. However, he remained PM for just 13 days, during which Pakistan lost the war.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (August 14, 1973-July 5, 1977)

Following the war, Yahya Khan resigned as President of Pakistan and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over. In 1973, Pakistan adopted a new constitution, and on August 14, Bhutto became Prime Minister. He carried out a series of reforms like the nationalisation of banks and flour, rice and cotton mills.

But Bhutto was imprisoned in 1977 and was later given a death sentence on murder charges by the Lahore High Court. This was upheld by the Supreme Court and he was hanged on April 4, 1979.

Muhammad Khan Junejo (March 24, 1985-May 29, 1988) 

Muhammad Khan Junejo was appointed as the Prime Minister and later dismissed by President Zia-ul-Haq within three years because of differences of opinion.  

Benazir Bhutto (December 9, 1988-August 6, 1990) 

(Image Source: Reuters)

Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was the youngest and the first democratically-elected woman Prime Minister of Pakistan but in a span of two years, she was accused of corruption and dismissed by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

Nawaz Sharif (November 6, 1990-July 18, 1993)

Nawaz Sharif's first stint as Prime Minister started in November 1990 but ended in less than three years when Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved the National Assembly on April 18, 1993. He had to resign along with the President in July 1993.

Moeenuddin Qureshi (July 18, 1993-October 19, 1993)

Moeenuddin Qureshi was appointed as caretaker PM by President Khan and completed the balance term of Nawaz Sharif. But when the country fell into a constitutional crisis, he had to give up his seat to Benazir Bhutto.  

Benazir Bhutto (October 19, 1993-November 5, 1996)

Benazir Bhutto's second stint as a PM lasted longer than her first. But her second term again ended like her first, when she was dismissed on corruption charges of by President Farooq Ahmad Leghari.

Nawaz Sharif (February 17, 1997-October 12, 1999)

(Image Source: Reuters)

Nawaz Sharif won the elections by a majority and began his second term as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. During this time, he appointed General Pervez Musharraf but their relationship eventually strained. This culminated in a coup d'etat on December 11, 1999.

From October 1999 to November 2002 the post of Prime Minister was vacant. 

Zafarullah Khan Jamali (November 21, 2002-June 26, 2004)

General Pervez Musharraf appointed Zafarullah Khan Jamali as the Prime Minister who was like his secretary. He stepped down in 2004 because he lost the confidence of the President. 

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain (June 30, 2004-August 27, 2004)

Shujaat Hussain took over as the caretaker Prime Minister from Jamali and in his short tenure of 57 days, he announced a special parliamentary committee to resolve the Balochistan crisis. He completed his tenure and handed over the reins to Shaukat Aziz. 

Shaukat Aziz (August 28, 2004-November 15, 2007) 

Shaukat Aziz was Pakistan's Finance Minister for five years, and then rose to become the Prime Minister, while maintaining his office as the Finance Minister. In November 2007, he completed his parliamentary term because of which he left office.

Yousaf Raza Gilani (March 25, 2008-June 19, 2012)

After elections threw up a hung National Assembly, the Pakistan People's Party picked Yousaf Raza Gilani to head a coalition government. Gilani faced several allegations of corruption in his tenure of four years and was eventually disqualified by the Supreme Court after being convicted for contempt of court.

Raja Pervez Ashraf (June 22, 2012-March 24, 2013)

Raja Pervez Ashraf was nominated the Prime Minister by the Pakistan People's Party. But he too was ordered to be arrested by the Supreme Court after he was alleged to have received kickbacks in the Rental Power Projects case.

Nawaz Sharif (June 5, 2013-July 28, 2017)

Nawaz Sharif's third stint as the Prime Minister began after winning the 2013 general elections. But owing to the fact that he was exposed in the Panama Papers scandal, he was disqualified by the Supreme Court and barred for life from holding public office. In July 2018, Sharif was convicted of having disproportionate assets, and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. 

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (August 1, 2017-May 31, 2018)

Shahid Khaqan Abbasi took over as the caretaker PM and completed Nawaz Sharif's balance term as the interim Prime Minister of Pakistan.