Survey results: Who has been Pakistan's best ruler?
Find out who scored high (and low) on our Rulers of Pakistan survey.
Ahead of the 70 year anniversary to mark Independence, Dawn.com asked its readers to rate past rulers of the country based on their time in power.
A snapshot survey conducted online in July this year listed each ruler with a rating scale of 1 (very poor) to 5 (excellent) for respondents to vote on.
The results, reflecting the views of Dawn.com's audience, is arranged in order of best to worst ruler below.
Respondent demographics
A total of 18,544 Dawn.com readers took the survey
1 - Liaqat Ali Khan
Highest ranked ruler of Pakistan based on an average of total responses
Liaqat Ali Khan was ranked number two (under Ayub) in KP, Punjab and 'Others' within Pakistan.
He was also ranked number two (under ZA Bhutto) by Balochistan respondents.
2 - Ayub Khan
Received the highest percentage of 'Excellent' votes (27%)
Ayub Khan was ranked the number one ruler by KP and Punjab respondents, slightly beating Liaqat Ali Khan.
Balochistan respondents ranked him two points below the average (from 2 to 4).
Unlike all the other locations, Balochistan had no military rulers in its top three.
3 - Pervez Musharraf
Musharraf was ranked two points lower than the average (from 3 to 5) by Balochistan respondents.
He was also ranked one point lower in KP and Punjab.
4 - ZA Bhutto
Last ruler to have a score above 'Average (3)' from total responses
ZA Bhutto was ranked the number one ruler by Balochistan respondents. In Balochistan, unlike all other provinces, the top 3 ranked rulers were all civilians.
He was ranked one point higher (from 5 to 4) by KP and Punjab respondents, beating Musharraf.
RANKED BELOW AVERAGE PERFORMANCE
5 - Benazir Bhutto
- Benazir was ranked third (up two points) by Balochistan respondents.
6 - Malik Ghulam Muhammad
7 - Nawaz Sharif
- Nawaz was ranked one point higher (from 7 to 6) by Punjab and Balochistan respondents.
8 - Ziaul Haq
Zia was ranked slightly higher (6 instead of 8) by KP respondents.
He was ranked slightly lower (9 instead of 8) by expats.
9 - Iskander Mirza
10 - Yahya Khan
- Yahya Khan was ranked bottom (from 10 to 11) in KP and Balochistan.
11 - Asif Zardari
- Zardari ranked the worst ruler in all locations except KP and Balochistan, where he rose one point, beating out Yahya Khan.
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Comments (205) Closed
Oct 05, 2017 12:16pm
My favourite was ZIA.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:23pm
My favorite was Asif Zardari
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Oct 05, 2017 12:24pm
What would be IK & Bilawal?
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Oct 05, 2017 12:25pm
Can we add America to the list of Pakistani rulers? Since that's where they all take the orders from anyway. Or at least pentagon if you still want to stay politically correct.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:25pm
This explains it - lack of good leadership! Bad for Pakistan and bad for the people of Pakistan. People must break the shackles and reject these selfish mediocre bunch and assert their rights to decide for themselves instead of being forced to accept such doe doe.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:26pm
@RaNA That mean you support the way he has led Pakistan to the path of destruction. With people like you, who needs enemies.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:27pm
In these terrible times that we face as a nation today, we need someone like Jinnah, Liaqat Ali Khan or may be Ayub Khan.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:29pm
My vote for Nawaz Sharif. He was trying his best to wean Pakistan from a Security state into a more welfare one. He was keen to have better ties with India and Afghanistan and thus reduce defence expenditure. But alas, the Establishment had other ideas.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:38pm
@MG Ik and Bilawal will not be part of list as their ranking will be in negative numbers from bottom Asif Ali Zardari
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Oct 05, 2017 12:39pm
and what about M K Jonajo.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:39pm
zaiulhaq was the best leadear of his time
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Oct 05, 2017 12:44pm
i am surprised that few people believe Yahya was excellent.
oppppps
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Oct 05, 2017 12:50pm
Gotta love the facts that people love their military dictators :D tells you a lot about the mindset of people.
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Oct 05, 2017 12:54pm
Fascinating reading. Definitely some useful conclusions to extrapolate from the survey, such as the distaste that the Baloch have for military rulers.
I'm also surprised at the breakdown of respondents - although I anticipated a high number of expat opinions, I'd have thought Dawn would make some mention of its primary demographic, ie angry unemployed hindustanis. Anyway, good survey and good summary.
Hasan
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Oct 05, 2017 12:55pm
Ayub was favorite.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:01pm
This unfortunate country has always been ruled by hypocrites, bigots and idiots. Enough said..
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Oct 05, 2017 01:05pm
@MG they have never been rulers dear... this survey is about those people who have ruled Pakistan.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:08pm
Why are Zia and Zardari even on this list?
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Oct 05, 2017 01:08pm
Top 2 ranked from the votes of those majority who certainly never saw their respective rule time. Responses were probably textbook reference or based on hearsay. Not that I'm downplaying their period, should've been more authentic.
Liaqat A. Khan was in 1950 era. How many of his voters were actually born in that period. Not just born but had actually seen & but actually felt goodness of that period. Guaranteed 'none'. Same question in the case of Ayub Khan's period.
Dear Dawn, didn't expect you'd jump the bandwagon of misleading the public, like almost every other person/ institution is doing over there - be it political, religious or statistical info. There seems to be practically no logical standard for measurement of any aspect of life left over there. Just inflated number crunching to prove mis-information.
Try to retain some dignity. Your foundations were laid by the great Quaid for a good reason. You have to stand out amongst the rest, in a good term.
Disappointed.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:11pm
The use of the words "rulers" and "ruled" betrays a certain national psyche. I would have preferred the word "governed" and "government"...
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Oct 05, 2017 01:12pm
Sad the ruling elite is on the last ladder inspite of improving our leadership has deteriorated. Any luck soon
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Oct 05, 2017 01:13pm
Liaquat Ali Khan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto were true leaders...
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Oct 05, 2017 01:13pm
What should really concern us is the public opinion about our three most recent democratic leaders; Nawaz, Zardari and Benazir all below average.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:14pm
Quaid e Azam instructed that Ayub Khan because of his incompetence should not to be promoted beyond Brigadier. The history later on proves that this man nearly cost us the country at the start of 1965 war mainly because he had Generals like Yahya and Musa.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:15pm
For me, Ayub Khan on the top and then Nawaz Sharif. However, I do not believe in online survey. If a person has 10 computers then one single person has 10 votes.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:19pm
This survey do not represent the all cross section of Pakistan society, it only represent the opinion of educated and privileged
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Oct 05, 2017 01:19pm
Good survey - Current, so called leaders Nawaz & Zardari should know how people view them.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:20pm
ZIA was truly the worst ever, pakistan is still witnessing that.
Ayub Khan best ever leader, pakistan requires such type of leader.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:22pm
NO IK even. seems he did not even receive enough respondents.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:23pm
The result seems about right. Surprised to see Mian Nawaz in that list, if any thing he should have got minus rating
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Oct 05, 2017 01:27pm
Its so pathetic as nation that there are four dictators in this list for which people voted and two among top five.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:28pm
The survey doesn't reflect the views of women. Just 8% participation by women.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:29pm
Zardari at bottom! As expected,
Waiting for IK in this list after 10 years
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Oct 05, 2017 01:33pm
Musharraf is the best... no doubt about it
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Oct 05, 2017 01:42pm
Among the living leaders today Musharraf is on TOP
Does it not say more than enough to the electorate as to who is the best option today ?
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Oct 05, 2017 01:44pm
Only 8% females in the sample ! Musharraf would probably have scored much better if female participation was higher.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:55pm
@MICHAEL CLAYTON
Squanderers and Looters would be more apt. It's pathetic that even after so many years of independence, Pakistan continues to be amongst the poor, thanks in no measure to these guys.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:58pm
I m 50 50 for liaqat Ali Khan and ayub
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Oct 05, 2017 01:59pm
Almost all of them are responsible for the leadership crisis in Pakistan , and harming the country giving us a socioeconomically, morally , and politically weak nation.
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Oct 05, 2017 01:59pm
This survey doesn't include the feedback of the dawn readers from Sindh! Had their feedback been included , perhaps the results may be different.
Moreover , only two percent women are the part of the sampling!!
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Oct 05, 2017 02:00pm
This survey is has methodological problems. The % of respondent, survey size and sampling bias make this survey scientifically poorly designed. Therefore, the results are of limited value in answering the question asked.
I agree as a scientist that Dawnshould be careful in publishing less robust information to avoid spreading myth and influence public opinion. Otherwise, there is risk of fake news label here, as trump would say!
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Oct 05, 2017 02:03pm
The survey results are self-explanatory.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:04pm
My favourite was Musharraf
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Oct 05, 2017 02:06pm
@adnan I think you are right. Liaquat Ali Khan is respectable for all of us and I think most people voted because he was a companion of Quaid e Azam and was a front line freedom fighter. Secondly, people may have voted for Ayub Khan because whatever SYSTEM we see in Pakistan today, was established in his era, be it the irrigation system, one of the largest canal systems, industrialization (before load-shedding destroyed it), establishment of Islamabad and many more. There are hardly any new system development after him.
So yes, you are right. Text books facts, hearsay, respect from the past and maybe a bit patriotism is the result of votes.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:06pm
The new face of Pakistan "minus" the terrorism; most of the credit goes to Pervaiz Musharraf. He knew what he was doing. Although the people and media blame him for his wrongdoings but when you put him side-by-side with the rest, he "CLEARLY" stands out. I wish he hadn't let the NRO happen. In my opinion that was his "Only" mistake. He shouldn't have ...
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Oct 05, 2017 02:07pm
@adnan
O’ thank you for expressing these feelings. I felt exactly same
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Oct 05, 2017 02:11pm
@Nagi .....Neither of both has not yet ruled Pakistan as President or PM.......Public Office Holder.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:12pm
Prevaiz Musharaff the best
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Oct 05, 2017 02:13pm
This does not represent mass only rich English literate people may have participated.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:13pm
I am surprised any of them scored above 3!
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Oct 05, 2017 02:14pm
@Pakistani
Any references to your quote please?
I am wondering if the Quaid has had time to look at Brigadiers careers? And so keenly? and then give such comments? May be but what is the reference please?
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Oct 05, 2017 02:16pm
Musharaf is most democratic after liaquat ali khan
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Oct 05, 2017 02:24pm
Liaqat Ali Khan was a visionary. If Pakistan had chosen his path, today's Pakistan would have a way better than now it is. Pakistan still have chance to do the same.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:26pm
'Like People, Like Ruler' ---- Yahya Khan seems the best ruler of (West-)Pakistan.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:28pm
The most fascinating stat here is the breakup in poll participants based on gender ! only 8% females ! WoW.. Even I am surprised. did expect that big a disparity.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:36pm
Correctly reflects on the governance ability and performance of various leaders.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:43pm
Those secular in nature have been rated high.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:45pm
Liakat ali khan is one of founder of pakistan.So he is beyond the ruler like jinnah but i think Zardari is best as he deos like a democratic leader.
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Oct 05, 2017 02:50pm
* only eight percent women
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Oct 05, 2017 02:52pm
All person >80%, who are below 44 years old may not have any experience of the governments till 1980. How can they testify earlier decades?
A misleading public opinion or poll!
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Oct 05, 2017 02:56pm
Only Ayub Khan is the best ruler
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Oct 05, 2017 02:57pm
this result shows dawn readers are mostly literate and review performance on economy as well and think corruption is serious
Musharraf is voted high than NS but if an election takes place, NS will win double votes compared to Musharraf
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Oct 05, 2017 02:57pm
Our Mr. Zardari is very consistent though in his ranking.
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Oct 05, 2017 03:01pm
ZAB should have scored the highest owing to his charisma, dynamism, vision and actions.
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Oct 05, 2017 03:01pm
My immediate reaction - a bogus survey. I’ll come back with a detailed response
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Oct 05, 2017 03:07pm
My Favorite is, was and will be Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif.
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Oct 05, 2017 03:21pm
These cannot be taken as absolute values. The situation and circumstances prevailing at the time of rule will matter in their decision.
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Oct 05, 2017 03:27pm
My favorite was Zia.
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Oct 05, 2017 03:52pm
ayub khan was good ruler of the country despite of it was from defense force and entered int he govt illegally but he was best as compared with other past leaders.
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Oct 05, 2017 04:07pm
Very good analysis, proved democracy was the best revenge and worst in performance.
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Oct 05, 2017 04:12pm
The way the question was framed is so telling. It is not about who was the best leader, rather who was the best ruler. I remember reading an interview with Benazir in an international publication where she to herself as a"ruler" of Pakistan.
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Oct 05, 2017 04:30pm
Both Liaqat Ali Khan and Ayub Khan very unpopular in East-Bengal/Pakistan.
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Oct 05, 2017 04:31pm
There are some factor severely influencing this survey, the age of participants and largest representation of Expats. About 50% of the respondents are below 34 years old so their knowledge (this is personal assessment and definitely is subject to discussion) about most of the rulers is limited or based on Social Media Knowledge (SMK). Secondly, the love of Expats (34% of the respondents) towards military dictators is quite evident during recent past. Unfortunately, one has to live in Pakistan to know what these dictators have done to our country on behest of their masters. A sane an informed person wouldn't even think of considering them capable even to be on this list.
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Oct 05, 2017 04:51pm
Sir Musharraf by far is the best of them.
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Oct 05, 2017 04:52pm
@RaNA yeah me too - he will always be remembered.
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Oct 05, 2017 05:03pm
liaquat ali khan is a great leader and ZA Butto is good
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Oct 05, 2017 05:10pm
@RaNA God help you.You need it.
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Oct 05, 2017 05:22pm
You demand excellence you get excellence...law of nature....it favors no one....just follow the Universal Law of Nature, it is timeless and eternal.....irrespective of religion.
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Oct 05, 2017 05:25pm
Zardari is a genuine person.....no double game....he is better than the present lot we have.
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Oct 05, 2017 05:59pm
@RaNA The destroyer of fabric of beautiful country Pakistan
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Oct 05, 2017 06:09pm
I think if you increase women participation to 49% of total, you will move Benazir and Musharraf another point.
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Oct 05, 2017 06:15pm
We Indians are very lucky that we have plenty of
excellent political leaders from Pandit, Sardar,
Radhakrishnan, Lalbahadur, Rajendraprasad,
Dr. Kalam, Morarji, Dr. Manmohan to Bajpaiji &
still on.
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Oct 05, 2017 06:22pm
My vote for Asif Ali Zardari.
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Oct 05, 2017 06:27pm
@MG may be 1 and 0.00
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Oct 05, 2017 06:47pm
I 100 percent agree with the results of the polls.
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Oct 05, 2017 09:00pm
Looks like very fair results.
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Oct 05, 2017 09:11pm
@Arshad Couldn't agree more...
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Oct 05, 2017 09:55pm
@Farrukh Kayani: Very surprised. Hope you don't belongs to ruling class.
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Oct 05, 2017 09:58pm
Seems like a very good study. Would love to know more about the methodology and detailed results.
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Oct 05, 2017 10:21pm
@umar
Well said sir exactly my sentiments
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Oct 05, 2017 11:31pm
As an Indian Mrs. Bhutto was the best.Wish she was still alive.
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Oct 05, 2017 11:33pm
@A.Sen i wonder why would someone still vote NS ! In last 9-10 years, Pakistan has been on its worse with regards to Economy, Institutions & Judiciary! No other city has prospered except cities on GT Road cos they matter in making governments. Lets see where they lead us from here.
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Oct 05, 2017 11:38pm
IK & BILAWAL ARE ILLEGIBLE TO APPEAR IN THE TEST
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Oct 06, 2017 12:17am
@A.Sen, joke of the year !
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Oct 06, 2017 12:39am
@A.Sen
You still don't get it... look at the survey results!!
'Mujhe kyun nikala'?? Lol!!
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Oct 06, 2017 12:44am
If you feel, cutting off one wing of Pakistan was "leadership", then I am sorry to say there is something seriously missing in us as a nation.
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Oct 06, 2017 01:42am
How come two of the military dictators are on the top?
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Oct 06, 2017 01:52am
@umar very apply said!
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Oct 06, 2017 02:30am
In my opinion let us not touch Liaquat Ali Khan. He was heading a country with no resources. However there is a neck to neck competition between Ayub Khan an Parvaiz Musharaf the later having an edge over every one
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Oct 06, 2017 02:55am
@Pakistani , indeed right. Same person who as colonel was suspended by British in leaving his command and trying to run away during World War 2. But as you know, most younger people of today are totally unaware of facts and read fake history in schools.
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Oct 06, 2017 03:04am
@SomethingFishy , you can check National Archives for historical files and 'Quaid Papers' to check this fact. Also mentioned by a number of other senior and reputable Pakistani leaders in their biographic works. Also, sadly, due to machinations of Iskander Mirza, Ayub was promoted out of turn though much more competent senior officers were there, poor Liaqat Ali Khan was fooled by the collusion of these cunning people. Later, after some time , Ayub even removed his benefactor Mirza and took over power. This sad story has been repeated again and again in Pakistan.
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Oct 06, 2017 03:28am
My favourite was Pervez Musharraf
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Oct 06, 2017 03:51am
All rulers were and are without the "Rule of Laws"!
It is the "Good Governance" that counts and matters the most!
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Oct 06, 2017 04:00am
Liaquat Ali Khan
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Oct 06, 2017 04:33am
in terms of respect in outside world liaqat was best---in terms of economic prosperity all army rulers ayub,zia mussharaf were far better and civilian rulers except liaqat were all failures in all criteria from economics to internal security to external respect---so the result shows we are a better of nation in marshal law and a looser nation in civilian rule--not that civilian rule is bad but because we have incompetent corrupt civilian rulers and thats because our political parties are corrupt and family dynasties--once the political parties reform themselves civilian will become good automatically
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Oct 06, 2017 04:45am
@Israr because they are below average and thus pakistan performed below average in their period
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Oct 06, 2017 04:47am
I think the choices in the survey were not adequate as there was no mentioning of Malik Miraj Khalid, one of the finest soul ever for the executive post ever witnessed by the poor governance system.
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Oct 06, 2017 04:50am
@Sarwar and education is the only thing which matters in voting--dont you understand and since bulk pakistani masses are uneducated thanks to our govts particularly civilian elected ones ,our masses elect wrong incompetent corrupt politicians
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Oct 06, 2017 05:36am
Nawaz Sharif best
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Oct 06, 2017 05:37am
Nawaz Sharif best of best
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Oct 06, 2017 06:33am
Zardaris name should not have been included in the survey. He does not deserve attention
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Oct 06, 2017 07:19am
My favorite was none. None of them did anything memorable for the people. Every one looted the country and stashed the money in foreign banks for their children.
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Oct 06, 2017 07:23am
My favorite is LiaqatAliKhan. He was one of the founders and architects of Pakistan. Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan said once on the death anniversary of Liaqat Ali Khan that he once told LiaqatAli Khan that he should claim the equivalent of his properties left behind in India under the evacuee properties act, to which Liaqat replied that he will not claim any property till every Pakistani had a house to live in. When he was assassinated there was no house for the family to live in. A grateful nation built a house by public donations in Clifton Karachi for the family. RajaGhazanfar Ali Khan was the rehabilitation Minister in Liaqat's cabinet.
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Oct 06, 2017 07:25am
I like Ayub khan, because he was the man of leader ship qualities. He could took the decisions by his own. Pakistan enjoyed the era of development during his regime..
I love him..
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Oct 06, 2017 07:55am
@Nagi Imran Khan hasnt ruled yet. How dumb can people get.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:00am
Prior to this survey another one pertaining to the most urgent issues of Pakistan must have been conducted. This might have given the respondents a chance to judge the performance of these rulers on the basis of their ability and willingness to address these issues.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:23am
@Sarwar only educated people matter with diverse opinion, others have one way opinion;
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Oct 06, 2017 08:24am
@Syed Irfan ali Agree with ZA Bhutto only, his daughter was hopeless.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:33am
@Lullazai Off shore accounts, he is top on list.
BBC News 10.05.17:
"A German court handed Werner Mauss a two-year suspended jail sentence for tax evasion and ordered him to donate €200,000 (£180,000) to charity. Mauss, nicknamed the German James Bond, was accused of hiding more than €15m ($17m, £13m) in offshore accounts.Prosecutors had sought a jail sentence of six years and three months."
Criminals are running free and elected as Leaders in Pakistan, others countries have laws.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:42am
@TN I call them Off shore account leaders AKA criminals running free.
BBC News today:
"A German court handed Werner Mauss a two-year suspended jail sentence for tax evasion and ordered him to donate €200,000 (£180,000) to charity. Mauss, nicknamed the German James Bond, was accused of hiding more than €15m ($17m, £13m) in offshore accounts.Prosecutors had sought a jail sentence of six years and three months."
Pakistan either follow Democratic countries like Germany with rule of Law or follow Somalia without Law. It appears warlords running Pakistan.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:43am
Sadly, Pakistan did not get any sincere & honest leader since its independence because, no one were elected by the people.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:48am
Did you just use the term 'Ruler' ??
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Oct 06, 2017 08:49am
@Nagi Dictators does not matter much if they put Law of the land in front and make country progress and have no off shore accounts. Ayub, Liquate Ali, Musharraf, ZA Bhotto had no hidden accounts, their life is an open book, unlike elected Democratic Leaders Zardari, Nawaz, Begum Bhotto with accounts in Panama, Dubai, Swiss accounts , off shore accounts in Camen Island etc.
"A German court handed Werner Mauss a two-year suspended jail sentence for tax evasion and ordered him to donate €200,000 (£180,000) to charity. Mauss, nicknamed the German James Bond, was accused of hiding more than €15m ($17m, £13m) in offshore accounts.
Prosecutors had sought a jail sentence of six years and three months."
Other Democratic countries have laws for leaders and for common people;
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Oct 06, 2017 08:54am
Sk Mujibur Rahman was the best leader of ( not ruller) Pakistan never had.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:55am
Liaqat Ali Khan.. no doubt. The man with talent, vigor and charisma. It was political left who tried to smear his image but nation loves its Shaheed-e-Millat. LAK made no fortune by occupying the top/powerful slots of the country. He served Pakistan in all of his capacity. He excellently managed the infant nation's issues of migrants management, finance and 1948 war with India. He was a statesman, a true patriot.
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Oct 06, 2017 09:16am
The distribution indicates that Balochis have a better political acumen than other provinces.
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Oct 06, 2017 09:20am
Their is no comparison between Liaquat Ali Khan and the rest of them. Liaquat Ali Khan one of the founding member of Pakistan
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Oct 06, 2017 09:20am
I think IMF and World Bank ruled well in Pakistan because these two organisations do prepare our budgets, increase electricity and gas prices, gives loan to run country and so on...my number one is IMF and World Bank...thanks to them.
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Oct 06, 2017 09:21am
@MG they are on the top but from the bottom.
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Oct 06, 2017 09:22am
Report reflect that people like dictators.
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Oct 06, 2017 09:57am
performance of all politicians not too good except Liquat Ali Khan due his tenure not too long
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Oct 06, 2017 10:05am
@adnan . Amazing response.One is ready to accept the voting results in elections in the country in which majority of voters are illiterate and have mostly no knowledge of the individuals for whom they are voting for except some self interest.While doubts are being expressed on the results of the survey where all the voters are literate with seemingly no self interest . By the way there are many still alive including me who were born at about the time of creation of Pakistan and would have adequately seen Ayub Khan period and beyond.
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Oct 06, 2017 10:06am
I will regardAyub Khan as No 1,way above others because he established Pakistan as a stable state,established all the departments and regularised the governance.Everybody agrees that in his time Pakistan was leading all the countries in Asia in all aspects.His system of elections was also preferable but unfortunately it was not practiced honestly during his time as well.Pakistan has gone downhill after him.Musharraf should rank 2nd because he again brought Pakistan to an honorable position. Junejo too should be given a higher rank. As far Liaquat Ali Khan he has no parallel as he was the maker of Pakistan and stands only 2nd to Father of Nation.
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Oct 06, 2017 10:13am
My Favorite was Pervez Musharaf
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Oct 06, 2017 10:21am
Sad there are only 8% female respondents sampled! You basically failed to give proper weightage to 50% of the population. This survey is fundamentally flawed.
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Oct 06, 2017 10:27am
Its strange that name Junejo (ROP)is missing.He was the best ruler with sound service delivery & least tolerance for corruption. With limited space he performed exceptionally well.
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Oct 06, 2017 10:36am
This survey is grossly misleading for many reasons specially when u see the names in the list.
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Oct 06, 2017 10:39am
Aruba Khan and Zulfikar Ali With their chrisma among the top leaders of the world,if Bhutto was alive pakistan would have been the best country in Asia.
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Oct 06, 2017 10:41am
Zia was the best, no doubt.
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Oct 06, 2017 11:39am
liaquat ali khan was best leader in the whole world , i love him .
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Oct 06, 2017 11:47am
liaquat ali khan was best leader in the whole world he was the example for the politicians specialy for pakistani leadership,
liaquat ali khan was the great man we don't forget him .
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Oct 06, 2017 11:59am
@Realist It is not true bro. Wrong perception.
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Oct 06, 2017 11:59am
@A.Sen : It clearly indicates one thing i.e. you have no idea how common man was being robbed in this country. Alas! it is a real tragedy.
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Oct 06, 2017 12:03pm
@CRACK The survey is about rulers not politicians.
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Oct 06, 2017 12:04pm
Z A Bhutto should have been at the helm for its transformative changes, not only proposed but got it implemented.
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Oct 06, 2017 12:14pm
It's a good thing Dawn readers do not select our rulers!
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Oct 06, 2017 12:18pm
How could a survey be deemed as performance based where 60% people even can not write their names.
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Oct 06, 2017 12:22pm
@RIZWAN KHATTAK ,I do not know what are saying. A leader is supposed to act for Today and be watchful of his actions for the future generations.
Therefore, Zia, Musharraf, Yahya and Ayaub just wanted to till as long as they could not think of their act's impact on the future generations.
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Oct 06, 2017 12:22pm
A perfect 10 for all the listed misleaders!
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Oct 06, 2017 12:30pm
@Farooq "if an election takes place, NS will win double votes compared to Musharraf". Check who has more wealth and "buying power".
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Oct 06, 2017 12:39pm
92% male and only 8 % females participated in this survey....says a lot about status of women in pakistan....maybe they are not educated much or they are made to think that their opinions dont matter
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Oct 06, 2017 12:43pm
Z A Bhutto, Ayub Khan and Pervez Musharaf
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Oct 06, 2017 01:16pm
It would have been better if Jinnah ruled Pakistan for a decade
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Oct 06, 2017 01:49pm
Most credible result.
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Oct 06, 2017 02:04pm
My Favorite was Ayub and Musharraf.
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Oct 06, 2017 02:11pm
61% graded Nawaz as poor to very poor and 50 % for benazir and 86% for zardari..... Seems very good relent ion of actual performance
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Oct 06, 2017 02:12pm
@Realist if that was the case, we would not be having turbulent relations with US now.
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Oct 06, 2017 02:24pm
Prime Minister Hossain Shaheed Suhrawardy should have a prominent place in the list. His charismatic educational qualifications, progressive political outlook and profound administrative knowledge of being Prime Minister of Bengal for a long period and as well his aristocratic family back grounds were incomparable to any one else in the list. The demand for Pakistan gained momentum under his well leadership in Bengal and surfaced in the day of 'Direct Action'- such an unprecedented way that was nowhere seen in whole India. At the helm of Pakistan for a brief period of only one year only, he sincerely tried hard to solve the Bengali-non-Bengali problems on the line of parity formula by even shunning Bengali Majority! What else Bengali could do? He had a pragmatic view-point to run the state affairs. So, being a pro American alley he went to China and Soviet Union and laid the foundation Sino-Pakistan monumental relationship.
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Oct 06, 2017 03:06pm
@Farooq: For sure he will use state resources, if not available, his illicit money to buy votes and the election machinery.
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Oct 06, 2017 04:02pm
I vividly remember the January 1969 mass uprising against president Ayub Khan regime in Dacca (Dhaka) city --- mammoth demonstrations and sporadic conflicts between government armed forces/ police and the demonstrators.
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Oct 06, 2017 04:26pm
And who are these 3% to whom Yahya Khan was excellent ruler.
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Oct 06, 2017 05:52pm
@TF very logical observation !
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Oct 06, 2017 06:22pm
Musharraf was awesome! He made mistakes but Pakistan was going on top.
PERIOD!
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Oct 06, 2017 07:15pm
I think Air Marshall Ayub Khan was the best ruler of Pakistan.
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Oct 06, 2017 08:31pm
Ayub Khan & Musharraf....Zindaabad
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Oct 06, 2017 10:09pm
absolutely Pervez Musharraf.he is a leader with a vision.
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Oct 06, 2017 10:19pm
Thanks the Dawn for survey . Appreciate it
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Oct 06, 2017 10:22pm
absolutelyPervez Musharraf.he is a genius.
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Oct 07, 2017 12:32am
@RaNA Why is that? Do you have any reasons for your liking?
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Oct 07, 2017 12:32am
@Farrukh Kayani When you give a favorite, you should also give your reason.
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Oct 07, 2017 01:21am
They should make another list of most corrupt leaders and see how the current selection reverses
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Oct 07, 2017 01:34am
@Realist That's not a smart comment! Next we will blame all our problems on USA. Please grow up!
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Oct 07, 2017 02:04am
I fully agree with the survey, except, I would have ranked Ayub best in all categories.
We wish our future leaders will read this and try to be best ruler.
Also, wondering, our founding father QA Mr. Jinnah was not on the list?
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Oct 07, 2017 02:06am
@Adeel This survey was how they ruled when they were in power and NOT how they got there.
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Oct 07, 2017 02:51am
It is injustice to ignore Asif Ali zardari's contribution in the constitutional sphere. He voluntarily laid down his power as president to dissolve assemblies. Benazir and ZA Bhutto are at least better than Musharraf. Nawaz sharif too has been far better than Musharraf and Ayub Khan. It is very unfortunate that conspiracy theories spread by media and the lack of book reading have rendered us incapable to make an unbiased assessment.
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Oct 07, 2017 03:15am
NO ONE. You are fooling yourselves.
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Oct 07, 2017 03:20am
so Nawaz sharif is the best for now .
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Oct 07, 2017 04:40am
@Vinod narang
"Air Marshall Ayub Khan"?!
Hasan
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Oct 07, 2017 06:03am
Ayub, Yahaya, Zia, and Pervez should be in the list, these were dictators.
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Oct 07, 2017 08:11am
Why Asif Ali Z was included in the list? He was president NOT a Priminister.
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Oct 07, 2017 08:57am
Dawn should not call this as a survey. This is a call in an opinion which has no statistical or mathematical value. A survey is based upon a sample and a randomly selected population.
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Oct 07, 2017 09:44am
All time favorites Field Marshall Ayub Khan and Laiquat Ali Khan.
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Oct 07, 2017 12:39pm
@Realist Couldn't have put it any better myself.
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Oct 07, 2017 12:40pm
Well done Dawn. Excellent statistics and conclusion.
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Oct 07, 2017 12:44pm
@adnan Agree!
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Oct 07, 2017 12:53pm
@Raza agree!
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Oct 07, 2017 01:18pm
@Muhammad Imran Exactly! The crux of the matter is that the average Pakistani is not politically savvy enough to choose leaders who might be good for the people of Pakistan.
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Oct 07, 2017 01:53pm
@Syed Ebad ur rehaman Right! He didn't get enough time to prove his Pakistaniness.
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Oct 07, 2017 02:01pm
My favourite was Liaqat Ali Khan
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Oct 07, 2017 03:03pm
Dawn did not post what each ruler scored in individual demographics ... In my opinion they should do a second ranking in which the scores are weighted according to the representation of each group i.e. score = (%age of expats) * score by expats + (%age of punjabis) * score by punjabis + ...
Secondly, the survey should not include rulers before 1971 as more than half of their subjects are not represented in the survey.
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Oct 07, 2017 03:09pm
The limitations of this survey must be clearly stated that it is the viewpoint of Dawn.com's readers only, and the results DO NOT represent that opinion of Pakistanis at large.
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Oct 07, 2017 03:47pm
This shows that nation like leaders (be they be civil or military) who deliver results and not speeches and shinnanigans.
For me the worst was Malik Ghulam Muhammad who actually undermined civilian supremacy and paved way for military to come into power corridors.
Liaqat Ali Khan was the best.
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Oct 07, 2017 04:33pm
LIAQAT DID NOT HAVE MUCH TIME ON HIS OWN. uNFAIR TO RATE HIM BELOW aYUB. He was partner of Quaid to get us a country.
My vote goes to Ayub inspite of the fact that he was a military man. Most progress under peaceful condition was made under his rule.
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Oct 07, 2017 10:20pm
Musharraf was the true leader.
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Oct 07, 2017 10:44pm
I am not surprised at all.
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Oct 07, 2017 11:56pm
@Farrukh Kayani Thats a pity
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Oct 08, 2017 12:49am
Quite an irrelevant survey, no thought was put in the questionnaire. We cant draw any conclusion from this result.
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Oct 08, 2017 01:54am
My favourite is musharaf .
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Oct 08, 2017 03:30am
An intellectual survey indeed
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Oct 08, 2017 04:43am
Very close to my vote.
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Oct 08, 2017 06:32am
Online surveys are less credible. You will have different result if you ask the same question to real people.
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Oct 08, 2017 08:06am
The methodology of the sample survey is defective. It is not truly scientific nor representative.Read any elementary book on what are features of a good sample.
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Oct 08, 2017 08:07am
Nawaz Sharif was better than Zia
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Oct 08, 2017 11:44am
Ch. Muhammad. Ali remained prime. Minister of Pakistan from 1955_1957. He gave 1st constitution to Pakistan in 1956.1st five year plan 1955_1960 came during his tenure. All princely states of Pakistan were absorbed amicably during his tenure. He presented surplus budgets. He delivered to the nation, ch. Muhammad. Ali is our real hero.
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Oct 08, 2017 02:22pm
Zia was definitely he Best
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