About Pakistan

The history of Pakistan is full of several events and happening. The name Pakistan is a coinage representing 'Punjab, the Afghan border states, Kashmir, Sind and Baluchistan by erstwhile Political leader Mr. Rahamat Ali Chowdhry under the title “Now and Never”. For nine years Pakistan remained a dominion. It was proclaimed an Islamic republic on 23 March 1956. A federal parliamentary system functioned until Field-Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan seized power in a coup in October 1958. Muhammad Ayub proclaimed a presidential system in the constitution of 1962 and ruled until March 1969, when he was deposed by General Yahya Khan. In the first free elections in December 1970, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party dominated the west, while Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Awami League swept the board in the east, winning 160 of the 162 seats. East Pakistan proclaimed sovereignty and formed the People's Republic of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971. General Yahya Khan handed over power to Bhutto, who ruled until July 1977. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq took over initially to hold elections and transfer power to a civilian regime. Gen. Zia was killed in a plane crash on August 17, 1988 and Senate Chairman Ghulam Ishaq Khan took over as Acting President. The country was placed under emergency rule. In the general election held on November 16, 1988 the Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) led by Benazir Bhutto won the largest number of seats (92). Benazir assumed office as the Prime Minister on December 9, 1988. Ghulam Ishaq Khan was elected President on December 12, 1988. Nawaz Sharif of Islami Jamhoori Ittehed took over as Pakistan's 11th Prime Minister on November 5, 1990. However, the power struggle between the two resulted in the dismissal of Sharif in 1993. In the elections held in October, 1993, PPP returned to power and Ms. Bhutto took over as Prime Minister once again. On February 17, 1997, Nawaz Sharif was sworn in as Pakistan's 13th Prime Minster. After that the Army chief, General Pervez Musharraf took the control of the country till 2008 during whose reign Ms. Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. The army rule ended after general election that held in Pakistan. After a long military rule under General Musharraf, General elections were held in Pakistan and elected government of Pakistan Peoples' Party (PPP) was formed in 2008. In May 2013, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) came into power and Mr. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif sworn in as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for the third time.