First phase (1962–1969) The first "Pakistan" Muslim League was founded by
President Ayub Khan in 1962 as a successor to the
original Muslim League. Just a short period after its foundation, the party broke into two factions:
Convention Muslim League that supported the President and the new
Constitution, and the
Council Muslim League, that opposed the new Constitution, denouncing it as undemocratic that made the
Presidency an autocratic position. Following President Ayub's resignation,
Nurul Amin, a
right-wing political veteran, attempted to reunite the factions of Pakistan Muslim League. His efforts were supported by some, while opposed by others. Before the
1970 Elections, a senior leader of Council Muslim League,
Abdul Qayyum Khan formed his own
variant of the Muslim League that opposed cooperation with a party that once supported a
Dictator. In 1973, Amin's efforts succeeded and the
Functional Muslim League (PML-F) was founded.
Second phase (1969–1977) After the resignation of President
Ayub Khan, Pakistan Muslim League once again united under the leadership of the
conservative political veteran, Nurul Amin. Although they were closer ideologically, they were not ready to accept each other's domination. This is the reason that they competed against each other in
1970 elections. Following the death of Nurul Amin, the PML went into political abyss but made its notable comeback in a direct response to
nationalisation and the outgrowth of
leftism in the country under the
Bhutto administration. In the 1970s, the PML led by
Pir Pagara was benefited with the financial support of industrialists, including
Nawaz Sharif and
Shujat Hussain, and intelligentsia that included lawyers,
Fida Mohammad and
Javed Hashmi. Efforts of Pir Pagara assimilated of majority of the factions of the Pakistan Muslim League, in a bid to mount a strong opposition to the leftist
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) in the 1970s. It may be noted that all factions will continue to hold their individual identities, as the PML was treated as a platform for parties to come together.
Third phase (1977–1985) When Pakistan went into martial law in 1977,
General Zia-ul-Haq took power after
overthrowing the Bhutto government. In 1985, after the
election, Zia appointed
Muhammad Khan Junejo as the new
Prime Minister. Junejo, with a large group of pro-Zia conservatives founded an entirely new party by the name of Pakistan Muslim League. Junejo however soon started to lose the support of party due to his opposition to Zia. Meanwhile, other influential politicians like Nawaz Sharif and
Fida Mohammad Khan started to gain power. After the
Death of Zia-ul-Haq in 1988, democracy returned and new
1988 Pakistani general election elections were supposed to be held. Junejo split away from the party and formed
Pakistan Muslim League (J). Meanwhile, Fida became the party chairman and Sharif the General-Secretary. Pakistan Muslim League allied with
Jamaat-e-Islami and other right-wing parties to form the
Islamic Democratic Alliance against the left-wing PPP. This event marked the end of the Pakistan Muslim League. The Pakistan Muslim League formally dissolved alongside other parties following the
1977 Martial Law, though it supported it. However, it was restored in 1985, when
General Zia organised his supporters into a formal party under the leadership of
Muhammad Khan Junejo. In 1988, Zia dismissed Junejo and the party split between
Pakistan Muslim League (N) and
Pakistan Muslim League (J). In 1990,
after Zia's death, Pakistan Muslim League came under the leadership of
Nawaz Sharif and joined the
Islamic Democratic Alliance. In 1993, after the Alliance has been dissolved. After the
1999 Coup, PML-N went into a temporary decline and three new factions of Pakistan Muslim League were founded: Anti-
Musharraf PML (Zia), Pro-Musharraf conservative
Awami Muslim League and Pro-Musharraf liberal
Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q). In 2004, the PML-Q and the PML-F briefly reunited as the Pakistan Muslim League. However, the reunion was unsuccessful and within few days, both the parties went off in separate directions once again. ==List of breakaway factions==