The Prime Minister of Pakistan ( — , ; lit. “Grand Vizier”), is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country’s chief executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government, where the Prime Minister is the executive authority and political leader of the country and presides over the Cabinet. Nawaz Sharif is the current Prime Minister of Pakistan. The Prime Minister is elected by the people-elected National Assembly of Pakistan, members of which are elected by popular vote. Most commonly, the leader of the party or coalition with the most votes becomes the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is responsible for appointing a cabinet as well as running the government operations, taking and authorising executive decisions, appointments and recommendations that require executive confirmation of the Prime Minister. The 17th Amendment imposed a check on this power, making it subject to Supreme Court approval or veto. However, in 2010, the 185th Amendment was reversed and is replaced with more effective 18th Amendment to the Constitution, clearly turning Pakistan from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary democratic republic. The office of Prime Minister did not exist during three periods of Pakistan’s history, a circumstance different from a vacancy in the office, as a result of the dismissal of an individual Prime Minister by the President or by Martial law. In the first two cases, Pakistan had no Prime Minister from 7 October 1958 until 3 July 1972, and from 5 July 1977 until 24 March 1985— periods of martial law in Pakistan. During these periods, the President, who was the chief martial law administrator, effectively had the powers of Prime Minister as the head of government, without the title of Prime Minister. In the third case, after Pervez Musharraf’s coup, Pakistan did not have a Prime Minister from 12 October 1999 to 20 November 2002. During this time, Musharraf, holding the office of Chief Executive, was effectively the head of government.
