Pakistan Muslim League (Z) پاکستان مسلم لیگ (ض) | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | PML-Z |
Leader | Ijaz-ul-Haq |
Founded | October 2002 |
Split from | PML |
Headquarters | Bahawalnagar, Punjab, Pakistan |
Ideology | Pakistani nationalism Conservatism Islamism[1] Reformism |
Political position | Right-wing to far-right[2] |
Colors | Green |
Senate | 0 / 104 |
National Assembly | Assembly dissolved |
Punjab Assembly | Assembly dissolved |
Election symbol | |
Helicopter | |
Website | |
www | |
Pakistan Muslim League (Zia),[a] informally referred to as the Zia League,[b] is an Islamist right-wing political party in Pakistan. Named after Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan, the party is headquartered in Bahawalnagar.
The party was founded in 2002 by Zia's son Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq. With the 2002 general elections, Ijaz won his National Assembly seat, and merged with the Pervez Musharraf-endorsed Pakistan Muslim League (Q).[3] It gained the federal religious affairs ministry under Haq. After PML-Q was routed following the general elections of 2008, PML-Z separated from the larger party in February 2010.
In March 2010, PML-Zia successfully contested by-elections held in Bahawalnagar for Member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly, upsetting the Pakistan Peoples Party.[4] During the 2010 Pakistan floods, the party also came to national attention for distributing relief goods worth millions of rupees in Southern Punjab.[5][3]
On October 9, 2011, PML-Zia became the only party to support the PML-N's threat to dissolve the Punjab Assembly and pre-empt the PPP's expected victory in the 2012 Senate elections.[6] In the general elections in 2013, PML-Z contested two seats and won again from NA-191 Bahawalnagar in the National Assembly, and two seats in the Punjab Assembly. Haq's constituency NA-191 recorded the highest voter turnout in the country for 2013.[7]
On 19 March 2023, party leader Ijaz-ul-Haq along with his party members, joined the PTI after meeting with Imran Khan. The PML(Z) was also merged into the PTI.[8][9] It was later on 29 May, he denied the rumours of PML-Z getting merged into PTI.[10][11]
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
---|---|---|---|---|
2002 | 78,798 | 0.27% | 1 / 342
|
1 |
2013 | 128,510 | 0.28% | 1 / 342
|
1 |
2018 | 1,406 | 0.00% | 0 / 342
|
1 |