From Liaquat Ali Khan in 1947 to Shehbaz Sharif today: every term, with official dates.
Pakistan has had 28 prime ministers since 1947, counting caretakers. The National Assembly's official list has 33 entries, because several people held the office more than once. The first prime minister was Liaquat Ali Khan (from 15 August 1947). The current prime minister is Shehbaz Sharif, in office since 3 March 2024.
Dates are as given in the National Assembly of Pakistan's list of prime ministers, checked on 29 September 2026. Names are given in their common English spelling.
| No. | Prime minister | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liaquat Ali Khan | 15 August 1947 | 16 October 1951 |
| 2 | Khawaja Nazimuddin | 17 October 1951 | 17 April 1953 |
| 3 | Muhammad Ali Bogra | 17 April 1953 | 11 August 1955 |
| 4 | Chaudhry Muhammad Ali | 11 August 1955 | 12 September 1956 |
| 5 | Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy | 12 September 1956 | 18 October 1957 |
| 6 | Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar | 18 October 1957 | 16 December 1957 |
| 7 | Malik Feroz Khan Noon | 16 December 1957 | 7 October 1958 |
| 8 | Nurul Amin | 7 December 1971 | 20 December 1971 |
| 9 | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto | 14 August 1973 | 5 July 1977 |
| 10 | Muhammad Khan Junejo | 23 March 1985 | 29 May 1988 |
| 11 | Benazir Bhutto | 2 December 1988 | 6 August 1990 |
| 12 | Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi (caretaker) | 6 August 1990 | 6 November 1990 |
| 13 | Nawaz Sharif | 6 November 1990 | 18 April 1993 |
| 14 | Balakh Sher Mazari (caretaker) | 18 April 1993 | 26 May 1993 |
| 15 | Nawaz Sharif | 26 May 1993 | 8 July 1993 |
| 16 | Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi (Moin Qureshi) (caretaker) | 8 July 1993 | 19 October 1993 |
| 17 | Benazir Bhutto | 19 October 1993 | 5 November 1996 |
| 18 | Malik Meraj Khalid (caretaker) | 6 November 1996 | 17 February 1997 |
| 19 | Nawaz Sharif | 17 February 1997 | 12 October 1999 |
| 20 | Zafarullah Khan Jamali | 23 November 2002 | 26 June 2004 |
| 21 | Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain | 30 June 2004 | 26 August 2004 |
| 22 | Shaukat Aziz | 28 August 2004 | 15 November 2007 |
| 23 | Muhammad Mian Soomro (caretaker) | 16 November 2007 | 24 March 2008 |
| 24 | Yousaf Raza Gilani | 25 March 2008 | 25 April 2012 |
| 25 | Raja Pervaiz Ashraf | 22 June 2012 | 24 March 2013 |
| 26 | Mir Hazar Khan Khoso (caretaker) | 25 March 2013 | 5 June 2013 |
| 27 | Nawaz Sharif | 5 June 2013 | 28 July 2017 |
| 28 | Shahid Khaqan Abbasi | 1 August 2017 | 31 May 2018 |
| 29 | Nasirul Mulk (caretaker) | 1 June 2018 | 18 August 2018 |
| 30 | Imran Khan | 18 August 2018 | 10 April 2022 |
| 31 | Shehbaz Sharif | 11 April 2022 | 14 August 2023 |
| 32 | Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar (caretaker) | 14 August 2023 | 3 March 2024 |
| 33 | Shehbaz Sharif | 3 March 2024 | In office |
The list has three long gaps. There was no prime minister from 7 October 1958 to 7 December 1971, from 5 July 1977 to 23 March 1985, or from 12 October 1999 to 23 November 2002. During the first gap the country was led by Presidents Ayub Khan and Yahya Khan. The second gap began when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto's term ended on 5 July 1977, and Zia-ul-Haq was president from 1978. The third gap began when Nawaz Sharif's term ended on 12 October 1999. See the list of presidents for these periods.
Caretaker prime ministers run the government between the dissolution of the National Assembly and the formation of a new government after an election. 8 caretakers have served: Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, Balakh Sher Mazari, Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi (Moin Qureshi), Malik Meraj Khalid, Muhammad Mian Soomro, Mir Hazar Khan Khoso, Nasirul Mulk, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar. The National Assembly list marks the first seven as caretakers. Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar was sworn in as the eighth caretaker prime minister on 14 August 2023 (Dawn).
Liaquat Ali Khan, who took office on 15 August 1947 and served until 16 October 1951.
Shehbaz Sharif. His second term began on 3 March 2024. His first term ran from 11 April 2022 to 14 August 2023.
Benazir Bhutto, who took office on 2 December 1988. She served a second term from 19 October 1993 to 5 November 1996.
Nawaz Sharif appears 4 times in the National Assembly's list: 1990–1993, May–July 1993, 1997–1999 and 2013–2017.
28 different people, including caretakers, across 33 terms listed by the National Assembly. Excluding caretakers, 20 people have held the office.
Related: Presidents of Pakistan · History of Pakistan