bn, মুসলিম লীগ , logo = Flag of the Pakistan Muslim League (Q).svg , leader1_title = Historical leaders , leader1_name = M. A. Jinnah
Liaquat A. Khan
Ch. Khaliquzzaman
Khwaja Nazimuddin

Fatima Jinnah Fatima Jinnah ( ur, ; 31 July 1893 – 9 July 1967), widely known as Māder-e Millat ("Mother of the Nation"), was a Pakistani stateswoman, politician, dental surgeon and one of the leading founders of Pakistan. She was the younger sister of ...

, leader2_title = Parliamentary Secretary , leader2_name = Mahmud Husain , foundation = 15 December 1947 , dissolved = 27 October 1958 , predecessor = All-India Muslim League , successor = Pakistan Muslim League
All Pakistan Awami Muslim League , ideology = Islamic Modernism

Capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, private ...

Islamic socialism (factions) , position =

Big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined i ...

, international = , headquarters =

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, newspaper =

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's ...

, colors =

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

, country = Pakistan , website = , colorcode = #006600 The Muslim League was the original successor of the All-India Muslim League that led the Pakistan Movement to achieve an independent nation. Five of the country's Prime Ministers have been affiliated with this party, namely Liaquat Ali Khan, Khwaja Nazimuddin, M. A. Bogra,

Chaudhry Muhammad Ali Chaudhry Muhammad Ali ( Urdu, pa, ; 15 July 1905 – 2 December 1982), best known as Muhammad Ali, was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fourth prime minister of Pakistan, appointed on 12 August 1955. His government tran ...

, and I. I. Chundrigar. The Muslim League was defeated in the 1955 elections to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

by a political alliance known as the

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...

. However, Prime Minister C. M. Ali and Prime Minister Chundrigar were appointed to lead a minority government. The party was dissolved in 1958 after the declaration of Martial Law by General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army.

History

On the foundation of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

, the President of the All-India Muslim League, Jinnah, became the new nation's Governor-General, and the secretary general of the Muslim League, Liaquat Ali Khan became

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

. The All-India Muslim League was disbanded in December 1947 and succeeded by two organisations, the ''Muslim League'' and the

Indian Union Muslim League The Indian Union Muslim League (abbreviated as the I. U. M. L. or the League) is an Indian political party primarily based in the Indian state of Kerala. It is recognised as a State Party in Kerala by the Election Commission of India. The fir ...

, the first being its original successor in Pakistan. Jinnah resigned as the president of the Muslim League on 17 December and the two Muslim Leagues respectively elected Ch. Khaliquzzaman as President of the Muslim League (Pakistan) and

Muhammad Ismail M. Muhammad Ismail (5 June 1896—5 April 1972) was an Indian politician and social worker from Tirunelveli, southern Tamil Nadu. He served as the first President of Indian Union Muslim League after the partition of British India. He was popula ...

as the president for Indian Union Muslim League.

Ideology

The party remained the chief governing party for the early years after the partition. Under the premiership of Liaquat Ali Khan, the ML government successfully drafted the Objectives Resolution. Although Khan was a progressive, he introduced constitutional reforms in line with religious values and principles. The party however adopted a conservative platform under Khwaja Nazimuddin. Nazimuddin opposed equal minority rights and thus, the party lost the support of much of the progressive elite. However, much of his policies were repealed by his successors like Bogra and Ali, who promoted all sorts of liberties and equalities. The party's economic policies were pro-Capitalist. Prime Ministers like Khan and Bogra were keen supporters of a Western-style economy and promoted

Economic liberalism Economic liberalism is a political and economic ideology that supports a market economy based on individualism and private property in the means of production. Adam Smith is considered one of the primary initial writers on economic libera ...

and

Fiscal conservatism Fiscal conservatism is a political and economic philosophy regarding fiscal policy and fiscal responsibility with an ideological basis in capitalism, individualism, limited government, and ''laissez-faire'' economics.M. O. Dickerson et al., '' ...

. In the 1950s, Pakistan signed the pro-Capitalist pacts like CENTO and SEATO, quenching any possible chance of communist influence in the country. Despite Muslim League's support for Islam, the party did not take any action against the

Usury Usury () is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is c ...

payments, attracting criticism from religious parties.

End of party

Jinnah died in September 1948 and Liaquat was assassinated in October 1951. Robbed of its two senior leaders, the League began to disintegrate. By 1953, dissensions within the League had led to the formation of several different political parties. Liaquat was succeeded by Khawaja Nazimuddin, a Bengali, who was forced out of office in April 1953. Pakistan was racked by riots, and in the first national elections in May 1955 (held by a system of indirect voting) the League was heavily defeated. In October 1958, the Army seized power and the martial law regime of

Muhammad Ayub Khan Muhammad Ayub Khan ( Urdu: ; 14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974), was the second President of Pakistan. He was an army general who seized the presidency from Iskander Mirza in a coup in 1958, the first successful coup d'état in the country' ...

banned all political parties. This was the end of the old Muslim League.

Other parties by the same name

The name still held great prestige, however, and Ayub Khan later formed a new party, the Convention Muslim League. The opposition faction became known as the

Council Muslim League The Council Muslim League was a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League that divided from the Convention Muslim League that was supportive of the military regime of the President of Pakistan Gen. Ayub Khan. Sardar Muhammad Zafarullah, Mian Mumtaz ...

. This latter group joined a united front with other political parties in 1967 in opposition to the regime. But when the military regime of Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan fell in December 1971, and Pakistan's first genuine free elections were held but the military did not allow the majority winner to take office. Bhutto's PPP was swept out of power:

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was ...

dominated by the

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 i ...

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourt ...

lost massively and the Awami League of

East Pakistan East Pakistan was a Pakistani province established in 1955 by the One Unit Policy, renaming the province as such from East Bengal, which, in modern times, is split between India and Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Myanmar, wit ...

heavily won the ballot under Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. However, a larger conspiracy did not allow Awami League to be sworn into power. War ensued and

became Peoples Republic of Bangladesh on 26 March 1971. After 1971 in Pakistan (West) the PPP led by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto took power. 1977 Bhutto was removed by General Ziaul Haq through a coup. 1988, after the death of Pakistan's military ruler and later civilian President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, a new Muslim League was formed under the leadership of

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, 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 minister of Pak ...

, but it had no connection with the original Muslim League. Sharif was Prime Minister from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 1999, when he was ousted in Pakistan's third military coup. At the controversial elections held by the military regime of

Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of t ...

in October, five different parties using the name Muslim League contested seats. The largest of these, the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e-Azam), won 69 seats out of 272, and the

Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a centre-right and liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Peoples Party ...

, loyal to Nawaz Sharif, won 19 seats. After the elections in 2008, Quaid-e-Azam league was in the ruling coalition and the

's Muslim League sat in opposition. In the recent 2013 elections

emerged as the largest party in the country; the party formed its government at the center and

was re elected for third term as

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pak ...

Current factions of re founded party

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

(Nawaz) *

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ur, ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League") is a Conservative nationalist political party in Pakistan. As of the 2018 parliamentary election, it has a ...

(Quaid-e-Azam Group) *

Pakistan Muslim League (F) The Pakistan Muslim League (F) ( ur, , acronym: PMLF, PML-F, PML (F)) is a nationalist and pro-Hurs clan political party in Pakistan. It is one of the Pakistan Muslim Leagues. The letter 'F' in its name stands for ''functional''. It is primarily ...

(Functional) *

Pakistan Muslim League (Z) Pakistan Muslim League (Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed) ( ur, ) is a political party in Pakistan formed in 2002. It is named after General Zia-ul-Haq, Pakistan's president from 1978 to 1988. With the general elections of 2002, Ijaz-ul-Haq won the National ...

(Zia-ul-Haq Shaheed) * Awami Muslim League *

All Pakistan Muslim League All Pakistan Muslim League (Urdu: ; APML) is a political party in Pakistan founded by Pervez Musharraf in 2010. The launching ceremony of the party was held in London, but the central secretariat of APML is located in Islamabad, Pakistan. Hist ...

References

{{reflist *Main *Main2 Defunct political parties in Pakistan Political parties established in 1947 1947 establishments in Pakistan Political parties disestablished in 1958 1958 disestablishments in Pakistan