Pakistan’s powerful political dynasties have been consolidating their power at all levels of government for many decades. When one considers the political dynasties’ past, it becomes clear that their rise to power dates back to British colonial authority, well before the subcontinent was divided.
Many members of the same family are already competing against one another in dozens of national and provincial constituencies ahead of the general elections on February 8.
The goal of this special feature is to highlight the historical and modern facets of the major Pakistani political dynasties that have influenced the political climate of their nation for many years.
The Lahore Sharif family
After his company was nationalized, Muhammad Sharif, the scion of the business family that started Ittefaq Industries, decided to align himself with the anti-Bhutto faction.
With the help of Ghulam Jilani Khan, his son Nawaz Sharif joined Tehreek-e-Istiqlal, rose to the position of Punjab’s finance minister, and eventually became chief minister. Rather than using ideas as his tagline, he went with “construction and development.”He was the sole Sharif family politician. Shehbaz Sharif later entered politics and managed Lahore’s affairs. Abbas Sharif, the third son of Mian Sharif, was also a National Assembly member. Maryam Nawaz and Hamza Shahbaz Sharif are also important figures in their family’s political enterprise. During the trying times of General (retd) Pervez Musharraf, Hamza rose to prominence.
Nawaz is running for office again, this time from Mansehra and Lahore. His son-in-law, Captain (retd) Safdar, is spearheading his campaign in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa district.Shehbaz Sharif, meantime, is running for office in Kasur, Lahore, Hamza, and Maryam. Umar Sohail Zia Butt is a candidate from Lahore, and Abid Sher Ali is a candidate from Faisalabad, belonging to the Mian Shafi dynasty.
Larkana’s Bhuttos
Prior to partition, Sir Shahnawaz Bhutto served as the prime minister of Junagagarh and was a prominent figure in the Bhutto dynasty of Larkana. Following Pakistan’s independence, more than ten years later, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto held the positions of prime minister and foreign minister, while his cousin Mumtaz Bhutto served as Sindh’s chief minister.
