No Prime Minister in Pakistan could ever complete full term, is the post jinxed?

The ongoing political crisis compelled many to question if the throne of Pakistan is jinxed as no PM in the history of the Islamic nation has completed a full tenure.

New Delhi: Pakistan is once again witnessing a power-tussle and undemocratic change of government after Imran Khan, who closely missed the loss of the throne after a no-confidence motion against him was quashed. The leader urged the President to dissolve the elected government and call for fresh elections.

The ongoing political crisis, being called ‘Imran Khan’s attempt to save face by Pakistan media,’ compelled many to question if the throne of Pakistan is jinxed as no PM in the history of the Islamic nation has completed a full tenure.

Is Pakistan's throne jinxed?

Pakistan, which was created in 1947 out of India after the fateful post-Independence partition, saw the change of powers more often than any other so-called democracy.

 The jinx or ill-fate of our neighbours began just four years after its advent with the assassination of the first-ever elected PM of the country. Then the continuous power hustle between The Muslim League and other leaders led to the change of four prime ministers in just the span of 6 years from 1951-to 56.

This apart, Pakistan saw two undemocratic military rules from 1958 to 1973 and then in 1977 following the assassination of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Assasinations of Pakistan PMs

Three prime ministers of Pakistan were assassinated and hence were unable to complete their tenure. This includes the first PM Liaquat Ali Khan, who was assassinated four years and two months after the service.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the elected leader of Pakistan was taken hostage by Military General Zia-Ul-Haq and was later assassinated.

Bhutto’s daughter and the first female PM of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was also assassinated merely after 20 months of assuming control.

Military Rules in Pakistan

Pakistan has seen two military rules so far. First was when Mohammed Ayub Khan, an Army General forced Iskander Mirza to step down and became the President.

 The 1956 Constitution of Pakistan was replaced with a new one in 1962 by him in which, the post of Prime Minister was abolished.

Pakistan had no PM between 1958 and 1973 except for a brief period when Yahya Khan, another army general appointed Nurul Amin as his PM. Yahya Khan resigned as the President after defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation war and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became the President.

Bhutto became the elected Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1973 when the country adopted a new Constitution and established parliamentary democracy there.

However, Bhutto was deposed in a coup four years later in 1977 by military general Muhammad Zia ul Haq, who became the President a year later and assassinated Bhutto.

In 11 years, Pakistan had 7 PMs

From 2002 to 2022, Pakistan had at least 7 PMs coming and going into office with Yousaf Raza Gillani serving the longest after being ousted from power by the Supreme Court of India in 2012.

Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan

Both Imran Khan and his predecessor Nawaz Sharif completed almost four years in PMO, however, failed to complete the entire tenure.

Nawaz Sharif, who was all set to create history by becoming the first Pak PM to serve a full term, resigned after the Supreme Court began trial in the Panama Papers case.

Similarly, Imran Khan, who became the PM in 2018, was denotified on April 2 after President Arif Alvi dissolved the National Assembly on the proposal of Imran Khan, who was facing a no-confidence motion in the parliament.

Khan will continue as Prime Minister till the appointment of a caretaker PM under Article 224 A of the Pakistan Constitution.