Pakistan Muslim League (Q)

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Pakistan Muslim League (Q)
پاکستان مسلم لیگ
 
 
Leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
 
Founded 2002
Headquarters Central Secretariat
Parliament Lodges
Islamabad, Pakistan
 
Ideology Conservatism, Centrism
International affiliation International Democrat Union
Official colours green
 
Website
www.pml.org.pk

The Pakistan Muslim League (Q) or officially Pakistan Muslim League (Urdu: پاکستان مسلم لیگ ) is a centrist, conservative political party in Pakistan. The present form of PML-Q was formed in 2001.

Contents

[edit] History

The Pakistan Muslim League was founded in 1962 as a successor to the previously disbanded Muslim League. In 1993, "Nawaz" or "N" was added to its name to denote its leader, Nawaz Sharif. Factions of the PML-N broke away in 2001 to form the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-i-Azam).

[edit] PML-Q

The present Pakistan Muslim League started as a small group of half a dozen like-minded people in the Nawaz Sharif led faction of PML-N, including Mian Mohammad Azhar, Khurshid Kasuri, Syeda Abida Hussain and her husband Syed Fakhar Imam in defiance of Nawaz Sharif and his family's monopoly on the party. Later on, after the 1999 military coup, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain also joined the so-called "King's Party" because of unconditional support to then President General Pervez Musharraf. Before the general elections in 2002, the group expanded and took the form of the PML-Q.[1]

[edit] United PML

In May 2004, various PML factions and other political parties merged with the PML-Q to form a united Pakistan Muslim League (PML), thus leaving out only the Nawaz Sharif led faction of PML. They included former President Farooq Leghari's Millat Party, Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi's National People's Party, Arbab Ghulam Rahim's Sindh Democratic Alliance, Hamid Nasir Chattha's PML (Junejo), Pir Pagara's PML (Functional), Mian Manzoor Ahmad Wattoo's PML (Jinnah), and Ijaz-ul-Haq's PML (Zia).[2] Later on, Pir Pagara led faction called the PML-Functional again parted ways with the united PML, which led the number of parties being called Pakistan Muslim League to three; PML-Q, PML-N, and PML-F.

[edit] 2002 general elections

At the last legislative elections, 20 October 2002, the party won 25.7% votes and 69 out of 272 elected members.

[edit] Party Leadership

Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain is current President of PML-Q. He was elected unopposed, and Senator Syed Mushahid Hussain is the Secretary General of PML who was also elected unopposed.

Other leaders

[edit] Support for military regimes

The President of the party Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and his cousin Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi are the biggest supporters of the Musharraf regime. They have been faithful to the general in even the most adverse circumstances.[3]

Shujaat Hussain's father Chaudhry Zahoor Elahi was initially a supporter of General Ayub Khan, but when the governor during his time Nawab of Kalabagh Amir Mohammad Khan favored some of his local opponents, he parted ways with Ayub's Convention Muslim League. He opposed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and later joined Zia's government. He was killed allegedly by Al-Zulfikar organization for his support to General Zia-ul-Haq. After his death, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain continued to support Zia and his Islamization policies. He remained in PML till his party remained the favorite of the military establishment. Once the establishment parted ways with Nawaz Sharif in 1999, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi came to the rescue of the military regime of General Pervez Musharraf and saw their new party PML (Q) win the general elections of 2002. Both the Chaudhry brothers have been accused of many financial scandals including the Cooperative Scandal, sugar scandal and bank loan defaults, but none of them were ever proven or even pursed or trailed by goverment.[4]

[edit] 2008 general elections

The Pakistan Muslim League (Q) contested the February 2008 legislative election with other allied parties like Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Pakistan Muslim League (F), and National Peoples Party.[5] It was believed that the party wanted former Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi to become Prime Minister. The PML (Q) lost major parliamentarians in the 2008 general election, gaining only 49 elected seats, and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the PML (N) opposition parties won the election.

PML (Q) Secretary-General Mushahid Hussein said that, although the party had performed "far below expectations", it accepted defeat in the election "with grace" and would become an opposition party.[6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Akbar, Hasan. "The Rise of the King's Party", Newsline: October 2002 edition. 
  2. ^ Mumtaz, Ashraf. "Parties to inform EC about merger with PML", Dawn, May 20, 2004. 
  3. ^ Amir, Ayaz. "The problem of spine in Pakistani politics", Dawn Newspaper, September 26, 2003. 
  4. ^ Adil, Adnan. "In His Prime", Newsline: July 2004 edition. 
  5. ^ "Seat adjustment between MQM, PML (Q), PML (F), NPP", The News International. 
  6. ^ "Musharraf vows not to resign", Al Jazeera, February 20, 2008.

[edit] External links

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