Pakistan's Domestic Political Setting (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised Sept. 24, 2024 |
| Report Number |
IF10359 |
| Report Type |
In Focus |
| Authors |
K. Alan Kronstadt |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
Historically, constitutionalism and parliamentary
democracy have fared poorly in the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan, marked by power struggles among presidents,
prime ministers (PMs), and army chiefs. Congress has taken
an interest in efforts to strengthen civilian rule and improve
governance in the nuclear-armed state. In the 118th
Congress, H.Res. 901—Expressing support for democracy
and human rights in Pakistan—was passed by the full
House in June 2024. Islamabad contended that the
resolution “stems from an incomplete understanding of the
political situation and electoral process in Pakistan.”
The military has directly governed Pakistan for 33 of its 77
years of independence—most recently from 1999 to 2008—
interspersed with periods of generally weak civilian
governance. Pakistan has had five constitutions, the most
recent ratified in 1973 and significantly modified several
times since. The military has engaged in three outright
seizures of power from elected governments: by Army
Chiefs Gen. Ayub Khan in 1958, Gen. Zia ul-Haq in 1977,
and Gen. Pervez Musharraf in 1999. After 1970, five
successive governments were voted into power, but not
until 2013 was a government voted out of power—all
previous were removed directly by the army or through
presidential orders. Of Pakistan’s three most prominent
PMs, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was executed; his daughter
Benazir Bhutto was exiled and later assassinated; and threetime PM Nawaz Sharif was convicted on corruption charges
and lived in self-imposed exile from 2019 until his late
2023 return to the country.
Pakistan is a parliamentary democracy in which the PM is
head of government and the president is head of state. A
bicameral parliament is composed of a 336-seat National
Assembly (NA) and a 104-seat Senate. Both have directly
elected representatives from each of the country’s four
provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa or KP,
Punjab, and Sindh), as well as from the Islamabad Capital
Territory. The quasi-independent regions of Azad Kashmir
and Gilgit-Baltistan have no representation. NA members
are elected from 266 districts; 60 seats for women and 10
seats for religious minorities are filled on a proportional
basis. The PM is elected by the NA. The president, with a
largely ceremonial role, is elected to a five-year term by an
Electoral College composed of both chambers of parliament
and members of the country’s four provincial assemblies.
NA and provincial assembly members are elected to fiveyear terms. Senate terms are six years, with elections every
three years. Senate powers are limited, and only the NA can
approve budget and finance bills.
