Pakistan elections on Feb 8: Country's turbulent poll history. 10 points

Pakistan elections: Pakistan's political landscape always remains shadowed by its military influence, which is considered a driving force behind the polls

Pakistan elections: Pakistan is set to hold general elections on Thursday, mired by major political drama and economic catastrophe, as it hopes for a stable government to take over.

A total of 5,128 candidates will contest the polls to form a new National Assembly. Of these, about 4,800 are males, 312 are females, and two are transgender people. The National Assembly consists of 336 seats, and 266 are decided through direct voting on polling day.

The three main contender political parties are former premiers Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PLM-N), respectively, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari's Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

 

Merely days before the elections, popular public figure Imran Khan was sent to jail after being convicted of alleged corruption and disqualified from contesting the polls.

Notably, such unprecedented twists are not new to Pakistan's election history. The country's political landscape always remains shadowed by its military influence, considered a driving force behind the polls.

Key events in Pakistan's political history:

Pakistan becomes Islamic Republic

1) Since being carved out of India, Pakistan has been ruled by both generals and civilian governments over the last seven decades. Engulfed in the shadow of the first war with India in 1948 and the assassination of its first PM, Liaquat Ali Khan, in 1951, the country became an Islamic Republic after getting its first constitution in 1956. The same year, it had its first president, former general Sikandar Mirza.

2) Two years later, Mirza abrogated the constitution and imposed the first martial law - the military taking over the civilian government. This led army chief General Muhammad Ayub Khan to take charge of Pakistan and later become the president himself.

3) The shaky political history of the nation took a new turn after the 1965 war with India. The 1968 massive revolution against Ayub's dictatorial regime led General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan to impose the second martial law in 1969.

First general elections in Pakistan

4) The first general elections in Pakistan were only held in 1970, over two decades after its formation. This key event led to the country's division after a party won the majority in East Pakistan, present-day Bangladesh. This led to a war in which India was also involved, and Bangladesh became independent in 1971. In the same year, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto took over as Pakistan's PM and was later overthrown by the military.

Benazir Bhutto becomes PM

5) In 1977, Army chief General Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Bhutto in a coup and imposed third martial law. Two years later, Bhutto was hanged in a murder case. The 1985 general elections were held on a non-party basis. However, Haq dismissed the government in 1988. He later died in a mysterious plane crash. In the same year, Bhutto's daughter, Benazir, was chosen as the PM of Pakistan.

6) In 1990, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan dissolved Bhutto's government, and Nawaz Sharif won the next elections. In 1993, Khan also dissolved the Sharif government, but the Supreme Court overturned his decision. This eventually led both Khan and Sharif to resign. This was followed by a general election, which saw Benazir Bhutto become prime minister again.

Military coup by General Pervez Musharraf

7) In 1996, Bhutto's second government was dismissed again on corruption charges, and a year later, Sharif re-won the polls and became the PM in 1997. General Pervez Musharraf overthrew him in a coup in 1999 after the Kargil War. Musharraf first assumed the role of chief executive and later became the president.

8) In 2002, general elections were held but were widely considered rigged. During these years, Musharraf remained the president, cementing his position. The next "fair" elections were held in 2008, paving the way for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) to form the government. Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of former PM Benazir Bhutto, became the president. Bhutto had been assassinated in 2007.

2013 landmark elections

9) The 2013 elections were considered a landmark as the power was transferred from one civilian government to another. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) assumed power, and Nawaz Sharif became the PM.

10) In 2018, Imran Khan won the elections to become the PM. On April 10, 2022, his government lost a no-confidence vote. Nawaz Sharif's brother, Shehbaz Sharif, took over as the PM of a coalition government in April 2022. After his term ended in August 2023, the responsibilities were handed over to a caretaker government led by Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar.

(With inputs from agencies)