Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid
Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid پاکستان مسلم لیگ – ق | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | PML–Q |
| Leader | Shujaat Hussain |
| Secretary-General | Muhammad Tariq Hassan |
| Founders | Mian Muhammad Azhar Shujaat Hussain |
| Founded | July 20, 2002 |
| Split from | PML–N |
| Youth wing | PML–Q Youth Wing |
| Minorities wing | PML–Q Minorities Wing |
| Ideology | Conservatism (Pakistani) Moderate conservatism Pakistani nationalism Economic liberalism Third Way |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| National affiliation | PDM |
| Colors | Lime |
| Slogan | Live, let live... Giving hope to the hopeless |
| Senate | 1 / 96 |
| National Assembly | 5 / 336 |
| Punjab Assembly | 10 / 371 |
| Election symbol | |
Tractor | |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| Official website | |
The Pakistan Muslim League – Quaid (PML–Q) is a Pakistani political party with a centre-right position. It has a representation of five seats in the National Assembly and one in the Senate and is a part of the federal coalition government; led by the Pakistan Muslim League – N (PML–N) under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The Q in its name stands for Quaid-e-Azam or Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Its leadership and members were once part of the PML–N or Pakistan People's Party (PPP) presided by former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari. After the 1997 general elections, political differences arose that ultimately led to the creation of a faction inside of the party. The dissidents, led by Shujaat Hussain, called for strong and vocal support for the 1999 military coup d'état staged and led by then-Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee General Pervez Musharraf. In 2002, dissident leaders launched the party, focused on President Pervez Musharraf's government. It later became an integral part of Musharraf's government and appointed their own prime minister, Shaukat Aziz. Shujaat Hussain was named party president, and the party's focus turned to drawing in PML-N voters. Further advantage was taken by Musharraf, who granted opportunities to the party with a goal of exclusive support of the government and to diminish the public support of Sharif. It previously served as an ally of former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf and former prime minister Imran Khan's government, and led a joint election campaign in 2013, 2018, 2024 alongside the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in Punjab and Balochistan against its rival PML–N.
The emergence of PML–N as the largest opposition party after the 2008 elections led to a significant collapse of PML–Q's influence. The party suffered many setbacks thereafter when its membership began to disintegrate after forming a separate bloc with close association with the PML–N, including the Like-Minded and Awami League blocs and second, the former president's bloc. Senior members joined PML–N, while the junior leadership defected to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). PML–Q has a moderate conservative ideology.
In September 2010, PML–Q joined the similar ideological faction, PML-F, forming the Pakistan Muslim League (Pir Pagara), but this was short-lived when in May 2011 the party joined the Yousaf Raza Gillani led-government to fulfill the gap left by its rival PML-N. However, the party announced its resignation from the Parliament, citing the failure of the Pakistan People's Party to resolve the energy crisis as the reason, which had direct impact on the federal government. The situation become better by giving relief in fuel prices on 15 June 2012.