The office of prime minister was inaugurated alongside Pakistan’s independence in 1947. It was abolished for several years under the country’s second constitution, which instituted a presidential system of government. The office was restored in December 1971, at the tail end of the war between West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Pakistan and Bangladesh, respectively), but it was abrogated later that month. It was reintroduced in 1973 with the promulgation of the country’s third constitution.
No prime minister of Pakistan has ever completed a full term in office. Most prime ministers have been dismissed or disqualified from holding office. Several others have resigned. The first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated. The remaining prime ministers were designated to carry out a partial term after the office became vacant.
Below is a list of prime ministers of Pakistan since its independence. A name in italics indicates a caretaker prime minister, an office constitutionally designated to oversee the day-to-day duties of government between the completion of a parliamentary term and a general election.
| name | political affiliation | term | reason for leaving office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Pres. Ghulam Ishaq Khan ordered Nawaz Sharif’s government dismissed on April 18, 1993, and appointed Balakh Sher Mazari as caretaker. The Supreme Court ruled the move unconstitutional on May 26, 1993, and nullified Mazari’s government. As the political standoff continued, Sharif and Ishaq Khan resigned their respective offices in July. | ||||
| 2 Shehbaz Sharif advised Pres. Arif Alvi to dissolve the National Assembly three days before the end of its term. The early dissolution allowed elections to be scheduled at a date later than would have been prescribed upon the completion of the Assembly’s term. | ||||
| 1 | Liaquat Ali Khan | Pakistan Muslim League | August 15, 1947–October 16, 1951 | Assassinated |
| 2 | Khwaja Nazimuddin | Pakistan Muslim League | October 19, 1951–April 16, 1953 | Dismissed by governor-general |
| 3 | Muhammad Ali Bogra | Pakistan Muslim League | April 17, 1953–August 10, 1955 | Dismissed by governor-general |
| 4 | Chaudhry Mohammad Ali | Pakistan Muslim League | August 11, 1955–September 12, 1956 | Resigned |
| 5 | Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy | Awami League | September 12, 1956–October 18, 1957 | Dismissed by president |
| 6 | Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar | Pakistan Muslim League | October 18–December 16, 1957 | Resigned |
| 7 | Malik Feroz Khan Noon | Republican Party | December 16, 1957–October 7, 1958 | Dismissed by president |
| First constitution suspended under Mohammad Ayub Khan; no provision for prime minister under second constitution. | ||||
| 8 | Nurul Amin | Pakistan Muslim League | December 7–20, 1971 | Office abrogated |
| No provision for prime minister under second constitution. | ||||
| 9 | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto | Pakistan People’s Party | August 14, 1973–July 7, 1977 | Dismissed by army chief of staff |
| Third constitution suspended under Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq. | ||||
| 10 | Muhammad Khan Junejo | Independent (Pakistan Muslim League) | March 23, 1985–May 29, 1988 | Dismissed by president |
| 11 | Benazir Bhutto | Pakistan People’s Party | December 2, 1988–August 6, 1990 | Dismissed by president |
| Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (caretaker) | National People’s Party | August 6–November 6, 1990 | ||
| 12 | Nawaz Sharif | Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz | November 6, 1990–July 17, 19931 | Resigned |
| Balakh Sher Mazari (caretaker) | Pakistan People’s Party | April 18–May 26, 19931 | ||
| Moeen Qureshi (caretaker) | Independent | July 18–October 19, 1993 | ||
| 13 | Benazir Bhutto | Pakistan People’s Party | October 19, 1993–November 5, 1996 | Dismissed by president |
| Malik Meraj Khalid (caretaker) | Independent | October 6, 1996–February 17, 1997 | ||
| 14 | Nawaz Sharif | Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz | February 17, 1997–October 12, 1999 | Dismissed by army chief of staff |
| Third constitution suspended under Pervez Musharraf. | ||||
| 15 | Zafarullah Khan Jamali | Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid-e-Azam | November 11, 2002–June 26, 2004 | Resigned |
| 16 | Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain | Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid-e-Azam | June 30–August 26, 2004 | Resigned |
| 17 | Shaukat Aziz | Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid-e-Azam | August 28, 2004–November 15, 2007 | End of parliamentary term |
| Muhammad Mian Soomro (caretaker) | Pakistan Muslim League–Quaid-e-Azam | November 16, 2007–March 24, 2008 | ||
| 18 | Yousaf Raza Gillani | Pakistan People’s Party | March 25, 2008–April 25, 2012 | Disqualified by Supreme Court |
| 19 | Raja Pervez Ashraf | Pakistan People’s Party | June 22, 2012–March 24, 2013 | End of parliamentary term |
| Hazar Khan Khoso (caretaker) | Independent | March 25–June 5, 2013 | ||
| 20 | Nawaz Sharif | Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz | June 5, 2013–July 28, 2017 | Disqualified by Supreme Court |
| 21 | Shahid Khaqan Abbasi | Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz | August 1, 2017–May 31, 2018 | End of parliamentary term |
| Nasir-ul-Mulk (caretaker) | Independent | June 1–August 18, 2018 | ||
| 22 | Imran Khan | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | August 18, 2018–April 9, 2022 | Removed by vote of confidence |
| 23 | Shehbaz Sharif | Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz | April 11, 2022–August 13, 2023 | National Assembly dissolved2 |
| Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar (caretaker) | Independent (Balochistan Awami Party) | August 14, 2023–March 4, 2024 | ||
| 24 | Shehbaz Sharif | Pakistan Muslim League–Nawaz | March 4, 2024– | |