List of political parties in Pakistan

Pakistan is a multi-party democracy. The country has many political parties and many times in the past the country has been ruled by a coalition government.

The Parliament of Pakistan is bicameral, consisting of the National Assembly of Pakistan and the Senate.

Brief history and overviews

The military-dominated Establishment has directly ruled Pakistan for nearly half of its existence since its creation in 1947, while frequently exerting covert dominance over the political leadership during the remainder. The Establishment in Pakistan includes the key decision-makers in the country's military and intelligence services, national security, as well as its foreign and domestic policies, including the state policies of aggressive Islamization during the military dictatorship of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq. However, the military establishment later reversed its support of political Islam under General Pervez Musharraf, who pursued enlightened moderation in the 2000s.

Till 1990, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was the only major party of Pakistan. After Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto died, Benazir Bhutto took control and they remained a strong position throughout Pakistan. In 1990, Nawaz Sharif of Islami Jamhoori Ittehad (IJI) won the elections. Two major parties were in Pakistan. After IJI dissolved and Nawaz Sharif founded Pakistan Muslim League (N), PPP and PML(N) were the major two parties of Pakistan. In 1993, Peoples Party won the election again. In 1996, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was formed. In 2013, PTI took part in the elections and won 35 seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan. After the 2018 Pakistan elections, PTI became the government and became one of the three major parties of Pakistan.

In 2020, Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) was formed of many parties as a movement against then prime minister Imran Khan. Following Imran Khan’s removal, political unrest broke out throughout the country, and in the events leading up to the Pakistani 2024 election, many new parties were formed. The country’ largest party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, would be subject to legal issues, and an alleged crackdown and therefore was forced to register with their alliance member, the Sunni Ittehad Council, which is a minor religious party.

Punjab

Politics in Punjab happens throughout the Provincial assembly of Punjab. Punjab is generally considered as the most important political province and has been used by major parties such as the PML(N) and PTI in the past to gain legitimacy and as a political stronghold. The province has only seen one exclusively Punjab running party, being the Pakistan Muslim League Q (PML-Q). The Punjab provincial assembly has usually been split between the Pakistan Muslim League N (PML-N) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Sindh

Politics in Sindh happens throughout the Provincial Assembly of Sindh. Sindh has been used as a political stronghold for the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) since the party’s creation. The PPP has almost always won landslide victories in provincial elections in Sindh, and has almost always held the province’s seats. Throughout the early 2000s the PML-Q saw minor successes in Sindh, but the province quickly came under the control of the PPP again. The PPP has been accused of bad governance by several Sindhi parties, leading to the creation of the Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), a coalition of several anti-PPP parties, although the PPP still holds sweeping majorities in Sindhi provincial seats.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)

Politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa happens throughout the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The province is full of Pashtun nationalist and regionalist parties favoring Afghan tribalism, such as the ANP and PMAP. The region has also been full of religious parties, like the JUI-F especially throughout the north western areas near Afghanistan. There are several political parties in KPK, and most of them favor Pashtun nationalism with feudal aspects, but ever since Imran Khan’s entrance into politics, the PTI has almost always won landslide election victories in the province and has KPK as a political stronghold and base of power.

Balochistan

Politics in Balochistan happen throughout the provincial assembly of Balochistan. The area is full of Baloch nationalist parties, with some demanding autonomy for Balochistan, and some extreme groups demanding secession from Pakistan. Most parties from Balochistan follow the same pattern as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, high levels of regionalism and ethnic nationalism, with most ethnic nationalists being left-wing, as well as right-wing religious groups usually gaining victories near the Afghan border. Balochistan is the only province in which no party regularly gains a clear majority, and the provincial assembly is usually split between Baloch nationalist parties.

Gilgit-Baltistan

The Pakistan Peoples Party won the first Gilgit-Baltistan elections and was the only major party of Gilgit-Baltistan with 20 seats out of 33. However, in 2015, Pakistan Muslim League (N) won 15 seats and became the major party of Gilgit-Baltistan and PPP only received one seat in the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly. However, in the 2020 elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 16 seats and became the only major party of Gilgit-Baltistan with PPP winning 3 and PML(N) winning two seats.

Members of the Parliament

Provincial Assembly members

This is the list of parties that are currently represented in any of the 5 Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan, which includes, the Provincial assembly in Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, KPK and Gilgit-Baltistan

Unrepresented parties

This is the list of registered parties that are currently unrepresented in Parliament and any of the provincial assemblies of Pakistan since 2024.

Dissolved parties

Unregistered parties

See also

• Politics of Pakistan
• List of ruling political parties by country

Notes

References

External links

• Election Commission of Pakistan