The deputy prime minister of Pakistan, officially the deputy prime minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

romanized In linguistics, romanization is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and transcription, ...

: Nāib Wazīr ē Aʿẓam Pākistān ) is the second most senior minister of the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

. The main purpose of the post was to give a backup to the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

in the absence of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

. As a result of an agreement between the ruling

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...

(PPP) and the PML-Q to share ministries in the federal cabinet, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was made the first deputy prime minister of Pakistan. From 2013-2024 the office remained vacant until

Shehbaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who has served as the 20th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan since March 2024, having previously been in the role between Ap ...

appointed

Ishaq Dar Muhammad Ishaq Dar (born 13 May 1950) is a Pakistani accountant and politician who currently serves as the 6th deputy prime minister and 38th foreign minister of Pakistan since 2024. A close aide of the Sharif family, Dar is affiliated with ...

to Deputy Prime Minister as an additional charge to Dar's portfolio of Foreign Minister.

Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan

History

Nusrat Bhutto Begum Nusrat Bhutto (; ; ; []; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-born Pakistani public figure who served as the First ladies and gentlemen of Pakistan, First Lady of Pakistan from 1970 Pakistani general election, 1971 to Operat ...

served as Senior Federal Minister of the Cabinet in her daughter's government. She is often described as deputy prime minister. Before that Z.A. Bhutto served as the first deputy prime minister of Pakistan in

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin (15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a Pakistani politician and jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan from 7 December to 20 December 1971. His premiership term of only 13 days was the shortest served in Pakista ...

's regime. On 25 June 2012,

Chaudhry Pervez Elahi Chaudhry Parvez Elahi Warraich (Urdu, ; born 1 November 1945) is a Pakistani politician who was the Chief Minister of Punjab from late 2002 to late 2007 and again from late 2022 to early 2023. He was a member of the Provincial Assembly of ...

was appointed as the deputy prime minister of Pakistan. He also holds different offices in the federal cabinet. The post, for which there is nonconstitutional provision, was a result of the agreement between the Government and PML-Q leadership. The notification described that Elahi's appointment was carried out on immediate basis and will be valid until a new order is issued. The notification further stated that "Elahi will not possess the powers of the prime minister". Following negotiations between the

(PPP) and

Pakistan Muslim League (Q) The Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid e Azam Group) ; ''Pākistān Muslim Līg (Qāf)'', Acronyms: PML(Q), PML-Q, PMLQ, "Q League" (officially registered as the Pakistan Muslim League) is a political party in Pakistan. As of the 2024 parliamentary e ...

(PML-Q), Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and 15 members of his party were inducted into the Federal Cabinet. On April 28, 2024, Shehbaz Sharif through a notification issued by the

Cabinet Division The Cabinet Division () is the executive office of the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh. As a division of the Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The gove ...

appointed Ishaq Dar as Deputy Prime Minister.

Powers and responsibilities

The post is symbolic, non-

constitutional A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and without specific authorities, created only to ceremonially protect the space of the prime minister in his/her absence. The post does not carry particular responsibilities, although it is granted oversight over a number of ministries in the cabinet and the deputy prime minister works in his/her capacity as a "Senior federal minister". Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi had worked as a Senior minister in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, another post without any reasonable powers. Previously, the Senior minister post was occupied by Begum Nusrat Bhutto and

Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan Chaudhary Nisar Ali Khan (; born 31 July 1954) is a Pakistani politician who served as the Ministry of Interior (Pakistan), Interior Minister from 2013 to 2017. He had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from August 2018 till ...

, in the governments of

Benazir Bhutto Benazir Bhutto (21 June 1953 – 27 December 2007) was a Pakistani politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Pakistan from 1988 to 1990, and again from 1993 to 1996. She was also the first woman elected to head a democratic governmen ...

and

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...

, respectively. Due to the ambiguity of any constitutional definition of Ishaq Dar's role as Deputy Prime Minister, his current duties and authorities are uncertain in the office.

Judiciary issues

On 28 June 2012, a petition was filed in the

Supreme Court of Pakistan The Supreme Court of Pakistan (; ''Adālat-e-Uzma Pākistān'') is the apex court in the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicial hierarchy of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Established in accordance witPart VIIof the Constitution of Pakistan, it h ...

against the validity of the post. The petitioner told the court there is no space for any such position in the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...

and insisted the court to dismiss the post. The post was also challenged in the

Lahore High Court The Lahore High Court () is a provincial court house based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established as a high court on 21 March 1882. The Lahore High Court has jurisdiction over the province of Punjab. The High Court's principal seat is ...

under the violation to the article 91 of the constitution. The petitioner appealed the court that "this appointment was ill-intended and should be declared void." A petition was also filed in the

Sindh High Court The High Court of Sindh () ( Sindhi: سنڌ ھائي ڪورٽ) is the highest judicial institution of the Pakistani province of Sindh. Established in 1906, the Court situated in the provincial capital at Karachi. Apart from being the highest ...

which was rejected by the court.

References

External links