Pakistan's Election Results 2024: Historic Pattern Reveals Pakistani PMs Fail To Complete Full Terms

The announcement of Pakistan's election results has been delayed. Vote counting, which commenced on Thursday evening, was anticipated to provide clarity by early Friday.

However, official results for the 265 contested seats in the National Assembly, Pakistan's lower house of Parliament, are yet to be disclosed.

According to the latest reports, 30 seats have been won by Independent candidates, some of whom are linked with Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has secured 26 seats, and former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has garnered 21 seats, as reported by Al Jazeera.

With Pakistan on the brink of appointing a new prime minister, it's noteworthy that none of the previous premiers has completed a full term in the country's 77-year history.

Here is the list of PMs of Pakistan who never completed full-term

Liaquat Ali Khan

Liaquat Ali Khan, appointed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah in 1947, was the founding Prime Minister of Pakistan. He assumed office on 14 August. However, his tenure was abruptly ended when Khan was fatally shot by an Afghan in Rawalpindi's Company Bagh on 16 October 1951 during a public meeting of the Muslim City League.

Following Liaquat Ali Khan's assassination, power was assumed by Khawaja Nazimuddin on 17 October 1951. However, he served as Pakistan's PM for only one year and six months. Nazimuddin was dismissed in April 1953 by governor-general Ghulam Muhammad on charges of failure to control the widespread riots and protests in Lahore and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), reported First Post.

Mohammad Ali Bogra

Mohammad Ali Bogra was chosen by Governor-general Ghulam Muhammad as Pakistan's PM in April 1953. According to an Indian Express report, attempts were made by Bogra to curtail the powers of the governor-general by amending the India Independence Act, of 1954, which led to the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly later that year.

While the move was deemed illegal by the Sindh High Court, the federal court overturned the decision, ruling that the Constituent Assembly was illegitimate as no constitution was finalized for six years, the newspaper report added. Bogra was compelled to resign on 11 August 1955, with his term lasting two years and three months.

Chaudhri Mohammad Ali

He took office in August 1955. Ali is credited with the framing of Pakistan's Constitution in 1956, ending its dominion status and promising parity between West and East Pakistan, as reported by The Wire. Internal differences arose in the Muslim League, and as the Cabinet witnessed en masse resignation, Ali was asked to step down on 12 September 1956. His term lasted for one year and one month, as reported by Reuters.

Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy

The reins were taken over by the Awami League's Suhrawardy from Chaudhari in 1956. The post was occupied for only 13 months as he was forced to step down by Pakistan President Iskander Mirza in 1957.

Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar

A coalition government was formed by Chundrigar in October 1957, with the assistance of the Republican Party, the Krishak Sramik Party, and the Nizam-i-Islam Party, according to Indian Express. However, in less than two months, the confidence of his party and allies was lost when attempts were made by Chundrigar to reform the electoral college. Chundrigar resigned on 16 December 1957, as reported by Reuters.

Malik Feroz Khan Noon

Noon, from the Republican Party, served as Pakistan's PM for less than 10 months. Despite being appointed by Mirza to replace Chundrigar, relations between the two soured as the president sought to take full control of Pakistan. Noon was dismissed when martial law was enforced in Pakistan on 7 October 1958.

Nurul Amin

After Noon's removal, Pakistan witnessed nearly a decade of military rule. On 6 December 1971, Nurul Amin was appointed as the PM by General Yahya Khan. However, as Pakistan lost the war and Bangladesh was liberated, Yahya Khan resigned as the country's president. He was succeeded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. Amin's term as the prime minister also came to an abrupt end, lasting only for 13 days.

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto

Bhutto, the founder of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), stepped down as President following the enactment of the 1973 Constitution. He assumed the role of Pakistan's PM after securing the majority of votes in Parliament, as reported by Indian Express.

Bhutto returned to power after winning the March 1977 elections. However, his tenure did not last long. The Pakistan National Alliance, a nine-party tie-up, accused Bhutto of rigging votes. As violence broke out in urban areas, a coup d'état against Bhutto was carried out by General Zia-ul Haq in July 1977. Pakistan once again came under military rule, and the 1973 Constitution was suspended.

The PPP founder was hanged in April 1979 at Central Jail, Rawalpindi. His sentence is still considered a "judicial murder", as per the Pakistani daily newspaper The News. Bhutto's tenure as Pakistan's Prime Minister lasted for 3 years, 10 months, and 21 days, according to Indian Express.

Muhammad Khan Junejo

Martial law in 1985 was finally lifted by General Zia. After the non-party elections, Junejo was invited by Zia to form the government.

His term lasted only three years and two months, with relations between him and President Zia souring during that time.

Benazir Bhutto

Pakistan was ruled by General Zia until he died in a plane crash in 1988. Following his death, elections were held in the country. Benazir Bhutto, the daughter of slain premier Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as Prime Minister on 2 December 1988.

She became not only Pakistan's youngest PM but also the first woman leader of a Muslim nation.

The government led by Bhutto was dismissed by president Ghulam Ishaq Khan in August 1990 on charges of corruption, nepotism, and other acts "in contravention of the Constitution and the law", as per Indian Express. Her first tenure lasted one year and eight months.

Bhutto returned to power in 1993. She was once again dismissed by the president on charges of misgovernance on 5 November 1996. This time, she served as Pakistan's premier for just over three years.

Nawaz Sharif

PM for the first time in November 1990 after winning the elections, Nawaz Sharif's term was also curtailed with President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolving the National Assembly and appointing an interim PM on 18 April 1993.

Sharif moved the Supreme Court against the move, which ruled in his favour. However, due to pressure from the military, both Sharif and Ghulam Ishaq Khan resigned from their posts in July 1993, reported Indian Express. Returning as Pakistan's premier for a second time on 17 February 1997, Sharif remained in power for less than three years before being overthrown in a military coup by Army Chief Pervez Musharraf in October 1999.

Sharif's third tenure as PM came in June 2013 after PML-N's victory in the elections. His stint came to an end in 2017 when Pakistan's Supreme Court barred him from politics for life over graft charges related to the Panama Papers scandal. In 2019, Sharif left for London seeking medical treatment and stayed there in self-imposed exile before returning to Pakistan just last October.

Jamali, Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain, and Shaukat Aziz

From 2002 to 2007, Jamali served as PM during military rule in November 2002. He resigned in June 2004 over differences with the military. Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain took over as Pakistan's PM for just two months in 2004. He was succeeded by Shaukat Aziz, who resigned after the end of the parliamentary tenure in November 2007, reported Indian Express.

Yousaf Raza Gilani

Gilani came to power after the PPP won the 2008 elections. He had to step down after the Supreme Court disqualified him in 2012 on charges of "contempt of court". Raja Pervaiz Ashraf completed the remaining nine-month term of the PPP government till March 2013.

Imran Khan

Following Nawaz Sharif's disqualification by the Supreme Court in July 2017, Imran Khan won the elections the next year to form a coalition government. His dispute with the military seemed to have cost him his job. The PTI leader was ousted through a no-confidence motion by the Opposition in April 2022.

Shehbaz Sharif

Nawaz Sharif's younger brother, Shehbaz, formed a coalition government with the PPP after Imran Khan's ouster in April 2022. He stepped down in August 2023 and dissolved the government. Pakistan is currently under the rule of a caretaker government led by Anwarul Haq Kakar.

Only time will tell if Pakistan's new PM will be able to complete their five-year tenure, scripting history.