Pakistan People's Party sign in Karachi
Courtesy Sheila Ross

Former prime minister and leading politician, Mian Nawaz Sharif
Courtesy Embassy of Pakistan, Washington

Pakistan has had considerable difficulty developing stable, cohesive political organizations because they have suffered long periods of repression. Further, political parties, with few exceptions, have been founded as vehicles for one person or a few individuals, or to achieve specifically defined goals. When these individuals die or abandon their parties, or after party goals have been met, many organizations have lost their raison d'être and have lacked the ability to carry on. In addition, political parties have been handicapped by regional and ethnic factors that have limited their national appeal and have also been torn by personal and class rivalries.

Data as of April 1994