# Muslim League (1947–1958)

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, Mohammad Ali Bogra, Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, and Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar. The Muslim League was defeated in the 1955 elections to the Constituent Assembly by a political alliance known as the United Front. However, Prime Minister Chaudhry Mohammad Ali and later Prime Minister Ibrahim Ismail 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, the president of the All-India Muslim League, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, became the new nation's Governor-General, and the secretary general of the Muslim League, Liaquat Ali Khan became Prime Minister. 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 first being its original successor in Pakistan. Muhammad Ali Jinnah resigned as the president of the Muslim League on 17 December and the two Muslim Leagues respectively elected Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman as President of the Muslim League (Pakistan) and Muhammad Ismail 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 Muslim League government successfully drafted the Objectives Resolution. Although Liaquat Ali 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. Khwaja 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 However, much of his policies were repealed by his successors like Mohammad Ali Bogra and Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, who promoted all sorts of liberties.
The party's economic policies were pro-capitalist. Prime Ministers like Liaquat Ali Khan and Mohammad Ali Bogra were keen supporters of a Western-style economy and promoted economic liberalism and fiscal conservatism. In the 1950s, Pakistan signed the pro-Capitalist pacts like Central Treaty Organization (CENTO) and Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), quenching any possible chance of communist influence in the country. Despite the Muslim League's support for Islam, the party did not take any action against the Usury payments, attracting criticism from religious parties.

## End of the party

Muhammad Ali Jinnah died in September 1948 and Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in October 1951. Robbed of its two senior leaders, the Muslim League began to disintegrate. By 1953, dissensions within the Muslim League had led to the formation of several different political parties. Liaquat Ali Khan 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 Muslim League was heavily defeated.
In October 1958, the Army seized power and the martial law regime of Muhammad Ayub Khan banned all political parties. The Muslim League ceased to exist and was dissolved.

## Other parties by the same name

The name still held great reputation, however, and Ayub Khan later formed a new party, the Convention Muslim League. The opposition faction became known as the Council Muslim League. This latter group joined a united front with other political parties in 1967 in opposition to the regime.
In 1977, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was removed by General Zia-ul-Haq in the 1977 Pakistani military coup. A new party the Pakistan Muslim League (J) was formed. After the death of General and later the President Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq in 1988. Nawaz Sharif formed his own Pakistan Muslim League (N) in 1992, but it had no connection with the original Muslim League. Nawaz Sharif was prime minister from 1990 to 1993 and again from 1997 to 1999, when he was ousted in the 1999 Pakistani coup d'état. At the controversial elections held by the military regime of Pervez Musharraf 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), loyal to Nawaz Sharif, won 19 seats. After the elections in 2008, Pakistan Muslim League (Q) was in the ruling coalition and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N) sat in opposition. In the 2013 elections, Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) emerged as the largest party in the country; the party formed its government at the center and Nawaz Sharif was re-elected for third term as Prime Minister of Pakistan.