Pakistan Muslim League (N)

The Pakistan Muslim League is a Pakistani political party with a centre-right political position and a liberal conservative ideology. It is one of the three major mainstream political parties alongside the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. PML-N currently holds the most electoral seats in the National Assembly; and third-most in the Senate. It is currently leading the federal government in the executive, alongside a majoritarian government in Punjab; and is also a part of the Peoples Party-led coalition in Balochistan.
The PMLN was founded in 1993, following the dissolution of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, under the leadership of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, the party's platform is generally described as nationalist and conservative, supporting free markets, deregulation, lower taxes, private ownership, and advocating for peace through strength policy. Although the party initially supported social conservatism, its political platform has been described in recent years as more moderately conservative
One of several continuing factions of the original Muslim League in India, the seeds of the party were sown following the general elections in 1985 when then-Prime Minister Muhammad Junejo organised the supporters of President Zia-ul-Haq's presidency into a single platform, known as the Pakistan Muslim League. After President Zia-ul-Haq's death in 1988, under the leadership of Fida Mohammad, a large faction split away from the Junejo-led Pakistan Muslim League, and formed a conservative alliance with various right-wing and Islamist political parties, called the Islamic Democratic Alliance. The alliance formed a government in 1990 under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif. In 1993, the alliance dissolved and the party assumed its current shape, branding itself as the "Nawaz" faction of the Pakistan Muslim League, in contrast to the "Junejo" faction.
Members of the party have been accused of using Islamist and right-wing populist rhetoric. The PML-N administrations have been called an "authoritarian regime" by The Economist Democracy Index surveys.
After the breakdown of the relationship with the military in 1999, the party was eclipsed by its own splinter faction, the Musharraf-backed "Quaid", for almost a decade. Its appeal to traditional values and further to the conservative platform helped regained the regained popularity in general elections in 2008. In 2013, the party returned to power with Sharif elected as the prime minister for an unprecedented third term following the general elections, with Sharif.

History

Breakaway from the original PML

Upon the creation of Pakistan and departure of the British Crown in 1947, the All-India Muslim League became the Muslim League, which was now led by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. After the assassination of Prime Minister Ali Khan, the Muslim League struggled to revive itself, eventually losing control of East Pakistan in legislative elections to the Left Front. Internal disagreement over the party's direction, lack of a political program, motivation for public reforms, and inadequate administrative preparations and mismanagement all led to the public decline of the party. With the Socialist Party, the Muslim League struggled for its survival while facing the Republican Party and Awami League. The martial law imposed in 1958 eventually outlawed all political parties in the country.
The foundation and ground base of the PML-N lies with the Pakistan Muslim League, which was founded in 1962 as an enriched conservative project derived from the defunct Muslim League. The PML was presided over by Fatima Jinnah, who actively participated in presidential elections held in 1965 against Muhammad Ayub Khan. After Fatima Jinnah's death, the PML was led by Nurul Amin, a Bengali leader, who deepened its role in West Pakistan.
On a nationalist and conservative platform, the party engaged in political campaigns against the leftist Pakistan People's Party and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf or Bengali nationalist party, the Awami League, in the general elections held in 1970. It managed to secure only two electoral seats in the East Pakistan parliament and only ten in the National Assembly of Pakistan. In spite of its limited mandate, Nurul Amin became the prime minister and vice-president of Pakistan – the only figure to have been appointed as vice-president. The PML government was short-lived and soon its government fell in the aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. The PML-N is ideologically close to the military and holds common beliefs on national security.
The list below shows the well-known breakaway factions and their relationships with the military, although many minor factions have existed throughout Pakistani history:

Party conventions	Year	Relationship comparison and notes	Founders
PML	1988	Pro-status quo, national conservative, and pro-establishment	Sharif
PML	1988	Pro-Junejo	Junejo
PML	2002	pro-establishment, Pro-status quo, liberal conservative	Hussain
PML	1973	Pro-status quo, nationalist	Pagara
PML	2012	Pro-status quo	Rashim
PML	2001	Pro-status quo, pro-establishment, ultraconservative	Haq
PML	2008	Pro-status quo, pro-establishment	Ahmad
PML	2010	Liberal, Pro-status quo, pro-establishment	Musharraf
PML	1995	Libertarian, Pro-status quo, anti-establishment	Wattoo
Party conventions	Year	Relationship comparison and notes	Current
AIML	1906	Devolved into Muslim League, legal personality is presently continued and bestowed by the PML	No
PML	1962	Large part of the party led by the PML, other parts of the party are divided into smaller factions	Yes
CML	1965	Merged with PML	No
CML	1967	Merged with PML	No
ML	1970	Merged with PML	No

Electoral history

The Pakistan Muslim League went into a political abyss after the death of Nurul Amin and during the PPP and PTI government of Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Imran Khan It made a strong comeback in response to Bhutto's nationalisation program in the 1970s. Influential young activists, including Nawaz Sharif, Javed Hashmi, Zafar-ul-Haq, and Shujaat Hussain, ascended as the leaders of the party and started their political career through the Muslim League.
The party became an integral part of the nine-party alliance, PNA, against the PPP, and campaigned against the PPP in the 1977 general elections. They campaigned on a right-wing platform and raised conservative slogans in the 1977 general elections. The PML, including Sharif and Hussain, were a conglomerate of diverse views and had provided large capital for the Muslim League's financial expenses. It was at this time that the party was revived and joined the anti-Bhutto PNA with Pir Pagara, an influential Sindhi conservative figure, as its elected president.
After the martial law of 1977, the party reassessed itself and saw the rise of the powerful oligarch bloc led by Zahoor Illahi, who was the main PML leader. After the 1984 referendum, President Zia-ul-Haq had become the country's elected president. During the 1985 general election, a new PML-N emerged on the country's political scene. The party had supported the presidency of Zia-ul-Haq and won his support to appoint Mohammad Khan Junejo to the office of Prime Minister. Nawaz Sharif had won the favour and support of President Zia-ul-Haq, who approved his appointment as Chief Minister of Punjab Province in 1985.

1988 general elections

The modern history of the party began during the 1988 parliamentary elections, when the Pakistan Muslim League, led by former prime minister Mohammed Khan Junejo, split into two factions: one was led by Fida Mohammad Khan and Nawaz Sharif, the then chief minister of Punjab Province, and the other by Junejo.
In 1988, the Pakistan Muslim League was founded and established by Fida Mohammad Khan, an original Pakistan Movement activist, who became the party's founding president, whilst Nawaz Sharif became its first secretary-general. The party is not the original Muslim League, but is accepted as its continuing legal successor.
At the time of the 1988 elections, the PML was part of the eight-party Islamic Democratic Alliance, which had contained the right-wing conservative mass as one entity against the left-wing circles, led by the Pakistan People's Party. The general elections of 1988 marked the emergence of the Pakistan People’s Party's as the single largest political party, with its election to 94 of 237 seats in the state parliament. The IDA occupied 55 seats, but an influential leader, Nawaz Sharif, chose to serve the Chief Minister of Punjab Province. With Benazir Bhutto elevated to the post Prime Minister of Pakistan, the IDA nominated Abdul Wali Khan as a compromise candidate for opposition leader in the state parliament. Within 20 months, tales of bad governance and corruption plagued the Pakistan People’s Party's government. Finally, in 1990, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan charged the PPP government with corruption and lack of governance and dismissed the National Assembly and the first Bhutto government.

1990 general elections

The PML-N was still part of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad and participated, under the leadership of Nawaz Sharif, in the 1990 general elections. The IJI competed against the leftist alliance, known as the People's Democratic Alliance, which had contained the Pakistan People's Party and the TeI. The elections resulted in the victory of IJI, with Nawaz Sharif becoming prime minister. Through IJI, the conservative forces under Sharif had a chance to form a national government for the first time in the history of Pakistan. With Sharif taking office, his ascendancy also marked a transition in the political culture of Pakistan – a power shift from control by the traditional feudal aristocracy to the growing class of modern and moderate entrepreneurs. For the first time, Sharif launched privatisation and economic liberalisation policy measures, and his economic team actually implemented some of the serious economic liberalisation and privatisation measures previous governments had merely talked about.
Election results also showed liberals, the MQM, emerging as the third major party with 15 seats. For the first time in the history of the country, Sharif allowed foreign money exchange to be transacted through private money changers. While internationally acclaimed, his policies were condemned by the PPP. Benazir Bhutto mounted pressure on President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who dismissed the IDA government on 18 April 1993. The PML-N appealed to the Supreme Court, which then restored Sharif's government on 26 May. The country's armed forces and the military leadership attempted to negotiate with Sharif and get him to step down. This culminated in the resignation of Nawaz Sharif, and President Ghulam Ishaq Khan was also removed from office.