The Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, officially the Deputy Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the second most senior minister of the Republic of the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=hakúmat-e pákistán) abbreviated as GoP, is a federal government established by the Constitution of Pakistan as a constituted governing authority of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provin ...

. The main purpose of the post was to give a backup to the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

in the absence of the Prime Minister. As a result of an agreement between the ruling

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

(PPP) and the PML-Q to share ministries in the federal cabinet, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was made the first Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan. Since 2013, the office has been vacant.

Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan

History

Nusrat Bhutto ''Begum'' Nusrat Bhutto (; sd, نصرت ڀٽو; ur, ; born as Nusrat Ispahani; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani public figure of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1971 unti ...

served as Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan in her daughter's cabinet. Before that Z.A.Bhutto served as the first deputy prime minister of Pakistan in

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin ( bn, নুরুল আমিন; ur, ; 15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a prominent Pakistani leader, and a jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan and as the first and only vice president of Pakistan. He ...

's regime.

Powers and responsibilities

The post is symbolic, non- constitutional and without specific authorities, created only to ceremonially protect the space of the Prime Minister in his/her absence. The post does not carry particular responsibilities, although it is granted oversight over a number of ministries in the cabinet and the Deputy Prime Minister works in his/her capacity as a "Senior federal minister". Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had worked as a Senior minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister

Yousuf Raza Gilani Yusuf Raza Gilani (Urdu: ; born 9 June 1952), is a Pakistani politician who served as 18th Prime Minister of Pakistan from 25 March 2008, until his retroactive #Disqualification and ouster, disqualification and ouster by the Supreme Court of P ...

, another post without any reasonable powers. Previously, the Senior minister post was occupied by

Begum Nusrat Bhutto ''Begum'' Nusrat Bhutto (; sd, نصرت ڀٽو; ur, ; born as Nusrat Ispahani; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani public figure of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1971 unti ...

and

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan ( ur, ; born 31 July 1954) is a Pakistani politician who served as the Ministry of Interior (Pakistan), Interior Minister from 2013 to 2017. He is currently an independent member-of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab - ...

, in the governments of

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto ( ur, بینظیر بُھٹو; sd, بينظير ڀُٽو; Urdu ; 21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th and 13th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990 and again from 1993 t ...

and

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

, respectively.

Inaugural Office

On 25 June 2012,

Chaudhry Pervez Elahi Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi (Urdu, pa, ; born 1 November 1945) is a Pakistani politician who is currently serving as the Chief Minister of Punjab and the President of Pakistan Muslim League (Q), a conservative centrist to centre-right-nationalis ...

was appointed as the first Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan. He also holds different offices in the federal cabinet. The post, for which there is nonconstitutional provision, was a result of the agreement between the Government and PML-Q leadership. The notification described that Elahi's appointment was carried out on immediate basis and will be valid until a new order is issued. The notification further stated that "Elahi will not possess the powers of the prime minister".

Judiciary issues

On 28 June 2012, a petition was filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan against the validity of the post. The petitioner told the court there is no space for any such position in the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

and insisted the court to dismiss the post. The post was also challenged in the Lahore High Court under the violation to the article 91 of the constitution. The petitioner appealed the court that "this appointment was ill-intended and should be declared void." A petition was also filed in the

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh ( ur, ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest Court of Appeal for Sindh in ...

which was rejected by the court.

References

External links

Government of Pakistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan Politics of Pakistan National Assembly of Pakistan Continuity of government in Pakistan