Up to that point, Pakistan, a parliamentary democracy for most of its history, had had a total of 29 prime ministers since 1947 – one of whom took office twice a year. In 18 cases, they were removed under various pretexts, including allegations of corruption, direct military coups and forced resignations due to internal fighting in government groups. There was a murder. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register The rest of the prime ministers held the position for a limited time as overseers to oversee new elections or to see the term of a sacked prime minister. 1993 was very busy, with five changes in the prime minister. The shortest term for a prime minister is two weeks, while the longest is four years and two months. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has been elected Prime Minister three times – in 1990, 1997 and 2013 – most of them for a single candidate. The following is a list of prime ministers whose term has expired prematurely since 1947. It does not include caretaker Prime Ministers or those who have completed another term as Prime Minister: – Liaquat Ali Khan. The first Prime Minister of Pakistan. He took office in August 1947. He was assassinated at a political rally on October 16, 1951. Duration: Four years and two months. – Khawaja Nazimuddin. He took office on October 17, 1951. He was fired on April 17, 1953, by the country’s governor-general – a strong position he inherited from British colonial rule – on charges of mismanaging religious unrest. Duration: One year and six months. – Mohamed Ali Bogra. He took office on 17 April 1953. He resigned on 11 August 1955. Duration: Two years and three months. – Chaudhri Mohammad Ali. He took office in August 1955. Internal divisions within the ruling party led to his overthrow on September 12, 1956. Duration: One year and one month. – Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy. He took office on September 12, 1956. He was forced to resign after disputes with other centers of power on October 18, 1957. Duration: One year and one month. – Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar. He took office in October 1957. He resigned on 16 December 1957, facing a vote of no confidence in parliament. Duration: Less than two months. – Malik Feroz Khan Noon. He took office on December 16, 1957. He was fired due to martial law in Pakistan on October 7, 1958. Duration: Less than 10 months. – Nurul Amin. He took office on December 7, 1971. He left office on December 20, 1971, shortly after Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan. Duration: Less than two weeks. – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He took office on August 14, 1973. He was overthrown by a military coup on July 5, 1977, and eventually imprisoned and executed. Duration: Three years and 11 months. – Mohammed Khan Junjo. He took office in March 1985. He was dismissed on May 29, 1988 by the military leader who was also president. Duration: Three years and two months. – Benazir Bhutto. Daughter of the assassinated Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and the first female leader of a Muslim nation. She took office on December 2, 1988. Her government was ousted on August 6, 1990, by the president, a close aide to the late military leader, on corruption charges. Duration: One year and eight months. It would be the first of three governments to be fired on similar charges using the president’s sweeping powers. – Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif. He took office on November 6, 1990. His government was also ousted by the president on similar charges with Bhutto on April 18, 1993. The decision was overturned by the courts a few weeks later and he returned to office, but resigned again after disputes with the army. Total term: Two years and seven months. – Benazir Bhutto. She returned to power for a second term on 19 October 1993. She was ousted by the President again on 5 November 1996 on charges of misgovernance. Duration: Just over three years. – Nawaz Sharif. He came to power for the second time on 17 February 1997. He was overthrown by a military coup – the third in Pakistan’s history – on 12 October 1999. Duration: Two years and eight months. – Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. He was elected Prime Minister during the military rule in November 2002. He resigned after disputes with the army on June 26, 2004. Duration: One year and seven months. – Yousaf Raza Gilani. He was elected Prime Minister on March 25, 2008. He was expelled from the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2012 on charges of “contempt of court.” Duration: Four years and one month. – Nawaz Sharif. He was re-elected Prime Minister on June 5, 2013. He was dismissed by the Supreme Court of Pakistan on charges of concealing assets on July 28, 2017. Duration: Four years and two months. – Imran Khan. He was elected Prime Minister on August 18, 2018. He was voted out of power through a motion of censure by the opposition on April 10, 2022. Duration: Three years and seven months. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Report by Syed Raza Hassan. Gibran Peshimam writes. Editing by Mike Collett-White Our role models: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
