
The Pakistan Democratic Movement ( ur, پاکستان ڈیموکریٹک موومنٹ), or PDM, is a coalition of
political parties in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
It was founded in September 2020 as a
movement against then
prime minister
A prime minister, premier 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. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
, accusing his regime of poor governance, political victimisation of opponents, and mismanaging the economy and
foreign policy
A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through ...
. The struggle was also joined by several dissident members of Khan's own party,
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...
(PTI). On 10 April 2022, the coalition succeeded to oust Khan through a
no-confidence motion,
after which the PDM formed its own government, choosing the
opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president o ...
as the country's prime minister.
The president of PDM is
Fazal-ur-Rehman
Fazal ur Rahman or variants may refer to the following people:
Politicians
* Fazal-ur-Rehman (politician) (born 1953), Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist politician
* Fazlur Rehman Khalil (born 1963), Pakistani Islamist politician
* Fazlur Rahman ...
and the spokesperson is
Hafiz Hamdullah
Hafiz Hamdullah Saboor (Urdu: حافظ حمد اللہ صبور) is a Pakistani politician who previously served as the member of Senate of Pakistan.
Early life and education
His father Qari Wali Muhammad worked as a teacher in the educa ...
, both from
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF).
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi of the
Pakistan Muslim League
The Pakistan Muslim League ( ur, ; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the right-wing platform in the country.
The Muslim League (a different party) was the party of Pakistan’ ...
(PMLN) is the Secretary-General,
Mahmood Khan Achakzai of the
Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) is the Vice President, and
Aftab Sherpao
Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (آفتاب احمد خان شېرپاؤ; born 20 August 1944) is a Pakistani politician who is the current chairman of the centre-left Pashtun nationalist Qaumi Watan Party, after previously being a member of the Pakis ...
of the
Qaumi Watan Party
Qaumi Watan Party ( ps, قومي وطن ګوند or ; ur, قومی وطن پارٹی), abbreviated as QWP and formerly called Pakistan Peoples Party–Sherpao (PPP–S), is one of the prominent political parties in Pakistan, that split away from t ...
(QWP) is the Senior Vice President of the alliance.
PDM's former Senior Vice President was
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
Raja Pervaiz Ashraf ( ur, ; born 26 December 1950) is a Pakistani politician, businessman and agriculturist who is the current Speaker of the National Assembly and a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from NA-58 (Rawalpindi-II). ...
of the
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
(PPP), while the former spokesperson was
Mian Iftikhar Hussain
Mian Iftikhar Hussain ( ps, میا افتخار حسېن; ur, میاں افتخار حسین) is a Pashtun nationalist politician who is a senior leader of the Awami National Party
The Awami National Party (ANP; ur, , ps, اولسي ملي ...
of the
Awami National Party (ANP).
Background
The PDM is political movement which was based on the allegations of rigging in the
2018 Pakistani general election
General elections were held in Pakistan on Wednesday, 25 July 2018 to elect the members of 15th National Assembly and the four Provincial Assemblies. The three major parties Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led by Imran Khan, the Pakistan Muslim ...
, which
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
's
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...
won. The major agenda of PDM was the narrative that Imran Khan had mismanaged the economy, which resulted in increased inflation in the country, and that the price hike affected the lives of common Pakistanis. PDM leaders claimed that
Qamar Javed Bajwa, the
Pakistan Army Chief, and
Faiz Hameed
Faiz Hameed ( Punjabi & ur, ) is a retired three-star general in the Pakistani Army. He last served as Commander of the XXXI Corps. He was commissioned in the Baloch Regiment having served as the 24th Director General of the ISI and as GOC ...
,
head of the intelligence services (
ISI
ISI or Isi may refer to:
Organizations
* Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students
* Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks
* Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...
), were responsible for "selecting" Imran Khan to office.
However, Imran Khan's government maintained that the movement was motivated by a series of corruption cases against the leaders of the political parties that had previously governed Pakistan, namely the
Pakistan Muslim League
The Pakistan Muslim League ( ur, ; known as PML), is the name of several different Pakistani political parties that have dominated the right-wing platform in the country.
The Muslim League (a different party) was the party of Pakistan’ ...
(PMLN) and the
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...
(PPP). Moreover, according to Imran Khan, the opposition never appealed to the legal bodies to contest the elections, as his party PTI had in the
2013 general elections. He repeatedly claimed that the opposition was demanding amnesty under the
National Reconcialiance Ordinance (NRO), despite the opposition's statements that they did not desire NROs.
Formation
On 20 September 2020,
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ( ur, بلاول بھٹو زرداری; born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who is serving as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office since 27 April 2022. He became the chairman of Pakistan Peopl ...
, chairman of the center-left Pakistan Peoples Party, hosted an “all parties conference” at the
Islamabad
Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capita ...
Marriott Hotel
Marriott Hotels & Resorts is Marriott International's brand of full-service hotels and resorts based in Bethesda, Maryland. As of June 30, 2020, there were 582 hotels and resorts with 205,053 rooms operating under the brand, in addition to 160 ...
to form a grand political alliance and plan strategy for replacing the PTI government.
Fazal-ur-Rehman
Fazal ur Rahman or variants may refer to the following people:
Politicians
* Fazal-ur-Rehman (politician) (born 1953), Pakistani Islamic fundamentalist politician
* Fazlur Rehman Khalil (born 1963), Pakistani Islamist politician
* Fazlur Rahman ...
, a harsh critic of military establishment, read out the 26-point resolution adopted by the attendees.
Protests
On 16 October 2020, PDM held its first political gathering in
Gujranwala. Protests organised by the PDM in October 2020 drew over 50,000 people. The government has remained critical and dismissive of the rallies. The PDM planned to hold a "long march" in June 2021, despite objections of large gatherings by health experts, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan.
Resignations
In December 2020, due to disagreements with
Fazl-ur-Rehman's leadership,
Muhammad Khan Sherani and other senior members of the JUI broke away and formed their own political party called the
Jamiat-Ulema-i-Islam Pakistan, claiming that Fazl had personalized the party and used it for his own needs, dismissing the needs of the party itself.
In April 2021, the Pakistan Democratic Movement issued show-cause notices to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Awami National Party (ANP). Later on, the ANP withdrew from the PDM, saying that the movement was "hijacked" by some parties. After a
show-cause notice was issued to the PPP, it resigned from the Pakistan Democratic Movement and gave up all offices in the movement along with the ANP.
Coming to power
The major success of PDM came after reportedly 20 plus members of
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...
appeared on the surface in Sindh house on March 17, 2022.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...
claimed that these MNAs are bribed and have violated article. However, PDM refused these claimed and termed decision of dissent members as their own choice. Nevertheless, dissent members allowed PDM to negotiate with government-allied parties
Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan and
Balochistan Awami Party proving to them that the government has gone weak and PDM already has a reasonable number to win the no-confidence motion. Ahead of the vote motion
Balochistan Awami Party and
Muttahida Qaumi Movement – Pakistan joined the opposition alliance on 29 and 30 March respectively. As a result of opposition alliance won the vote of no confidence with 174 votes without using dissent members and saving article 63(A) against them.
The tenure of
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
as prime minister ended on 9 April, 2022, while
Shehbaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president o ...
was elected as prime minister of Pakistan by the national assembly of Pakistan.
Notable leadership
List of Prime Ministers
List of Chief Ministers
Parties
Parties joining later
Initial parties
Senior leadership
No-confidence motion against Imran Khan
A vote of no-confidence against
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
was held on 9 April 2022 where 174 members voted against him and removed him as prime minister. Consequently
Shehbaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi: , ; born 23 September 1951) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who is currently serving as the 23rd Prime Minister of Pakistan, in office since 11 April 2022. He is the current president o ...
was elected as prime minister of Pakistan.
See also
*
2019 Azadi March
*
Pakistan National Alliance
*
Movement for the Restoration of Democracy
The Movement for the Restoration of Democracy (MRD) ( ur, اتحاد برائے بحالی جمہوریت), was a historically left-wing populism and massive socialist political alliance formed to oppose and end the military government of Presid ...
*
Lawyers' Movement
References
External links
*{{commons category-inline
Political parties in Pakistan
Political party alliances in Pakistan
Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F)
Pakistani democracy movements