Pakistan Muslim League (N)

Breakaway from the original PML Upon the creation of Pakistan and departure of the British Crown in 1947, the All-India Muslim League (AIML) became the Muslim League, which was now led by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan. After the assassination of Prime Minister Ali Khan, the Muslim League struggled to revive itself, eventually losing control of East Pakistan in legislative elections to the Left Front. Internal disagreement over the party's direction, lack of a political program, motivation for public reforms, and inadequate administrative preparations and mismanagement all led to the public decline of the party. With the Socialist Party, the Muslim League struggled for its survival while facing the Republican Party and Awami League. At the time of the 1988 elections, the PML was part of the eight-party Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA), which had contained the right-wing conservative mass as one entity against the left-wing circles, led by the Pakistan People's Party (PPP). Election results also showed liberals, the MQM, emerging as the third major party with 15 seats. 1997 elections and power politics , the first PML-N Prime Minister. The Pakistan Muslim League (N) struck its remarkable, biggest, and most notable achievement in the 1997 parliamentary elections, held on 3 February 1997. It secured a two-thirds majority in the Pakistan Parliament, the only political party to have gained a two-thirds majority since the country's independence in 1947. During this time, the PML-N was the largest conservative party, with its members occupying 137 seats out of 207, roughly 66.2%. In the 2008 general election, the party won urban votes and dominated the provisional assembly of Punjab Province. They secured a total of 91 seats in the state parliament, just second to the Pakistan People's Party, which won 121 seats, and the parties agreed on forming a coalition government. The PML-N called for the impeachment of President Pervez Musharraf, and successfully ousted him from the presidency and exiled him to the United States in 2008. However, before long, Nawaz Sharif announced his support for and leadership of the Lawyers' Movement to restore the suspended famed Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry in 2008. In 2011, the PML-N established a branch in Kashmir Province to participate in Kashmir's general elections. 2008 parliamentary election and Richard Holbrooke in 2009 After returning to Pakistan, the PML-N contested the 2008 general election, demanding a restoration of the judges sacked under the emergency rule put in place by President Pervez Musharraf, and the removal of Musharraf as president. After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Sharif announced that the PML-N would boycott the polls, but after some time and conversations with the co-chairman of the PPP, Asif Ali Zardari, Nawaz announced that the party would run in the polls and began to rally in the Punjab areas. On 18 February 2008, after the polls were closed and the results had been announced, the PML-N gained 68 seats in the National Assembly, just behind the PPP. They announced that they would have discussions on forming a coalition with the PPP, which would get half the seats in the 342 seat Parliament. In a press conference on 19 February, Nawaz called for President Pervez Musharraf to step down. Nawaz and Zardari agreed on forming a coalition, and Nawaz announced that he and his party gave the PPP the right to choose the next Prime Minister. . On 13 May 2008, the PML-N ministers resigned from the government due to a disagreement related to the reinstatement of the judges. Nawaz said that the PML-N would support the government without participating in it. Zardari, hoping to preserve the coalition, told Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to reject the resignations. On 27 June 2008, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) won three and two by-election seats respectively, in the national parliament. Polls were postponed for the sixth seat in Lahore due to Nawaz Sharif's eligibility contest. A court ruled he was ineligible due to an old conviction, amid a government appeal in the Supreme Court, which was slated to hear the case on 30 June, thus postponing the vote in the constituency. The two parties also won 19 of 23 provincial assembly seats where by-elections were held. The results did not affect the 18 February general election results in which Benazir Bhutto's PPP won 123 seats in the 342-seat National Assembly, and Sharif's party came second with 91, while Pervez Musharraf's party came a poor third, with 54 seats. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) won eight provincial assembly seats, while the PPP won seven provincial seats. On 25 August 2008, Nawaz Sharif announced that Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui would be Pakistan Muslim League (N) nominee to replace Pervez Musharraf as President of Pakistan. 2013 general elections During its election campaign for the 2013 general elections, the party competed against its arch-rival, the PPP, and another centrist party, the PTI. In an unofficial count, the party secured the qualified majority in the state parliament, the Punjab Assembly, and the Balochistan Assembly; it is yet the only party to have secured respectable seats and representation on provisional assemblies of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The leader of PML-N, Nawaz Sharif, won a third term as Prime Minister of Pakistan, the first time this had happened in the history of the country. 2018 general elections The 2018 Pakistani general election was majorly contested between PML-N and PTI. While PML-N retained its position in central Punjab it faced major setbacks in southern and northern Punjab. It obtained 64 seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan and 165 seats in the Punjab assembly. While it does not have mentionable shares in Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan Assembly. After the elections Shehbaz Sharif was elected as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Pakistan, while his son Hamza Shahbaz was elected as Leader of the Opposition of Punjab (Pakistan). PML-N became part of the opposition alliance Pakistan Democratic Movement, successfully moved a No-confidence motion against Imran Khan and removed him from office on 10 April 2022, and Shehbaz Sharif became Prime Minister of Pakistan. Subsequently, the nonconfidence movement was launched in the Provincial Assembly of Punjab on 16 April 2022, and Hamza Shahbaz became Chief Minister of Punjab. 2024 general elections The PMLN won the 2024 elections. ==Electoral performance==

National Assembly elections Senate of Pakistan Elections Punjab Assembly Elections • In the 2008 elections, the PML (N) and the PPP formed a coalition government, with PML (N) as the senior party and Shehbaz Sharif as Chief Minister of Punjab. However, in 2011, the PPP was expelled from this coalition. Balochistan Assembly Elections KPK Assembly Elections Azad Kashmir Legislative Assembly Elections Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly Elections ==Structure==

The major function of the General Council Meeting (or Central Working Committee) is to elect presidents and secretaries, while it is also responsible for promoting PML-N activities. The GCM's meetings are generally held at the Jinnah Convention Centre in Islamabad. Nawaz Sharif was elected President of the Pakistan Muslim League (N) in 2011. The General Council Meeting raises funds and coordinates campaign strategy, and it has local committees in every province and in most large cities, counties, and legislative districts, but these have far less money and influence than the national body. ==Ideology==

Economic policies , known as M-2 Motorway. The Pakistan Muslim League (N) policies include conservatism, and most importantly, economic liberalism. Throughout its history, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) has emphasised the role of free markets and individual achievement as the primary factors behind economic prosperity, deregulation of all segments of the economic order, and the strong base of capitalism. In 1991, the PML-N's government established the National Highway Authority followed by inaugurating the M2 Motorways in 1997. Environmental policies , established by PML(N). In 1997, the Environmental Protection Agency was established by the PML-N government, and its Ministry of Environment was one of the most notable government offices to protect national conservation and forestry in the country. In 1997, environmental PSAs were regularly paid for by the government to enhance and promote environmental awareness among the public. However, the ministry's environmental policies remain a subject of ongoing controversy, often criticised for ignoring the health of the environment despite the party's declarations. The PML-N's provincial government in Punjab Province came under intense media, opposition, and public anger after failing to counter the 2011 dengue fever outbreak due to its apathy and the inadequacy of steps taken to enforce environmental awareness and regulations. Recently, the prestige of PML-N has suffered after the government's Health and Environment ministries failed to properly inspect the quality of medicines, resulting in major counterfeiting and environmental crises, which put the party's environmental and health policies in great doubt. Science and politics The Pakistan Muslim League (N) is credited for ordering and authorizing the country's first nuclear tests (see Chagai-I and Chagai-II) amid immense international pressure. It is also responsible for establishing the Pakistan Antarctic Programme as part of its science and technology strategy. Together with their main rival, the Pakistan People's Party, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) is also responsible for increasing Pakistan's nuclear deterrent as well as boosting the nation's nuclear power growth, first establishing the Chashma Nuclear Power Plant expansion as part of its nuclear policy. Foreign policy issues The party has been long advocated for broader and stronger relations with the United States, China, the United Kingdom, European Union, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, as well as India. In 1999, the party's government successfully signed the Lahore Declaration with India. While it remains a strong supporter of the United States' financial and fiscal policies, it remains undecided about the military operations on its western frontier to curb militancy, with many PML-N intellectuals regarding the War on Terror as a campaign against Islam. ==Leaders==

== Challenges and controversies ==

Operation Clean-up Nawaz Sharif, during his first tenure as prime minister of Pakistan (1990–1993), launched a military operation against his own allies in government, MQM, for allegations against the Jinnahpur conspiracy. Later, the Inter-Services Public Relations denied any knowledge of the Jinnahpur conspiracy and separatist maps, which were highly publicized in the media prior to the operation's launch. Thousands of MQM activists were killed, its leadership arrested, and its head, Altaf Hussain, fled to exile in the UK. Operation 1998 During his second term as Prime Minister (1997–1999), Nawaz Sharif again launched an operation against the MQM, which was once more allied with Sharif's government, based on accusations of the assassination of Hakeem Said. Due to the MQM's militant activities and sectarian killings in Karachi, Nawaz Sharif was compelled to end the alliance with the MQM for the nation's benefit. An elected PML-N Sindh government in alliance with the MQM was dismissed, and President's rule was imposed. The operation ushered in a new era of bloodshed in Karachi, leading to the arrest of many MQM party leaders. Imran Farooq, who was the MQM's second-in-command at the time, was forced to flee Pakistan and sought political asylum in the UK. Fasih Jugu, accused of assassination, was tortured to death by law enforcement officers. The operation resulted in significant unrest as the PML-N government attempted to apprehend the criminal elements wreaking havoc in Karachi. This situation became one of the primary justifications the military created for the illegal ousting of Nawaz Sharif's government in 1999 through martial law. Plane hijacking In 1999, Nawaz Sharif was allegedly involved in the hijacking of a plane carrying the then Chief of Army Staff, Pervez Musharraf, as it was about to land at Karachi airport. The control tower had ordered the plane not to land in Pakistan, but in India instead. However, Musharraf and his loyalists had been planning a coup for months, and some versions of the story claim that Musharraf orchestrated the coup from the plane. The military reportedly did not allow the plane to land until Musharraf was assured that they were in control of the airport. Subsequently, the military pressured the courts to convict Sharif and sentence him to life imprisonment in 2000. General Musharraf had initially decided to hang Nawaz Sharif, but under pressure from the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, he chose not to proceed with this plan. In 2010, the Supreme Court of Pakistan overturned Nawaz's conviction, making him eligible to run for office again. Allegations of corruption PMLN has been accused of corruption in revolutionary economic schemes such as the Yellow Cab Scheme, The National Debt Retirement Programme (NDRP), the Sasti Roti Scheme, and the Nandipur Power Project. More recently, an international newspaper published the Panama papers, naming Sharif's sons as among people who created offshore companies. Nawaz Sharif is accused of using corruption money to grow his assets in his business ventures and Ittefaq Group. Also, Nawaz Sharif was condemned to 10 years in lockup for money laundering, including his daughter Maryam Nawaz for 7 years. On 29 September 2022, Islamabad High Court overturned the corruption conviction of Maryam Nawaz and her husband Muhammad Safdar Awan. Maryam Nawaz is now eligible to run for election. Panama papers case and its implications The Panama Papers case was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Pakistan that disqualified the incumbent prime minister of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif, from holding public office for life. The Supreme Court of Pakistan was petitioned by opposition politicians Imran Khan and Sheikh Rasheed, in the aftermath of the Panama Papers leak, which uncovered links between the Sharif family and eight offshore companies. The Court ordered for a Joint Investigation Team to be formed for the inquiry into allegations of money laundering, corruption and contradictory statements made by the Sharif family. On 10 July 2017, JIT submitted a 275-page report to the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The report found that Sharif, his sons and his daughter Maryam Nawaz could not justify their income nor their assets, adding that Maryam Nawaz had been proved to be a beneficial owner of Nielsen and Nescoll. The report also showed that Maryam Nawaz had falsified evidence before the Supreme Court, proven as the Calibri font used in the document did not exist at the time when documents were said to have been created. After hearing all arguments and based on evidence provided by the JIT, the Supreme Court of Pakistan announced its unanimous decision and disqualified the Prime Minister from holding public office, finding that he had been dishonest in not disclosing his employed in the Dubai-based Capital FZE company in his nomination papers. Stemming from the JIT investigation, and based on NAB's investigations, the court sentenced Nawaz Sharif to 10 years of imprisonment in relation to the Avenfield Apartments case. The sentence also extended to his daughter Maryum Nawaz, and Son-in-Law Retired Captain Safdar, who were given 7 years and 1 year imprisonment respectively. On 29 September 2022, a Pakistani court quashed the conviction of Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, in a corruption case that had seen her sentenced to seven years in jail. A two-judge panel found there was no evidence to prove the prosecution case that Maryam Nawaz abetted any corruption in buying high-end apartments in London. In the following election, PMLN suffered a massive blow due to these corruptions charges, with a net loss of 24.35%. PMLN blamed this primarily on alleged vote rigging and administrative malpractices. However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) outright rejected such reports and stated that the elections were conducted fair and free. The European Union Election Observation Mission said that no rigging had been found during the election, and polling was termed to be "transparent". In a hearing presided over by a division bench consisting of Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamir Farooq and Justice Miangul Hasan Aurangzeb, appeals filed by Nawaz Sharif against his sentence in the Avenfield and Al-Azizia Steel Mills cases were considered. The result of the proceedings was the acquittal of PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on 29 November 2023 from the charges pertaining to the Avenfield Apartments references. Allegations of treachery Nawaz gave an interview to Dawn News on 12 May 2018 in which he said that non-state actors from Pakistan were involved in the Mumbai terrorist attacks in 2008. A spokesman for Sharif said that Indian media had twisted his statement to make it seem like he had suggested that the state of Pakistan endorsed and was directly involved in the attacks. A National Security Council meeting was called by the Pakistan Army which declared the allegations were based on lies and misconception without specifically naming Sharif. == Notes ==