Formed in: 2002

After the 1997 elections, political differences arose within Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) which led to the formation of a faction of dissidents. These dissidents strongly supported Musharraf's 1999 military coup and in 2002 launched the PML-Q. The party went on it become an integral part of Musharraf’s government.

Top leaders

• Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
• Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi
• Kamil Ali Agha
• Moonis Elahi
• Chaudhry Zaheeruddin

Key concerns

• Universal education
• Improved energy management
• Employment for youth
• Women empowerment
• Economic revival
• Combating extremism and terrorism

2018 elections

PML-Q has fielded candidates from 16 NA seats — out of these five seats are from Punjab, one from Sindh, nine from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one from Balochistan.

2013 elections

PML-Q won two National Assembly seats in the 2013 polls. In the provincial polls, it won seven seats in Punjab and two in Balochistan.

Previous elections

In the 2008 polls, the party secured 38 NA seats, a marked difference from its performance in the 2002 elections, in which it won from 126 national seats.

Major political plays

• The PML-Q claims the legacy of the original Muslim league, tracing back its lineage to the All India Muslim League of which Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was the president.

• In May 2011, the party joined the PPP-led coalition government at the centre. The partnership was not without its frustrations and compromises with PML-Q parliamentarians getting increasingly uneasy over their demands ‘being ignored’ by PPP. With many ups and downs and a PPP desperate to manage alliances following the ouster of former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani, eventually the PML-Q managed to add to its achievements the portfolio of the first ever deputy prime minister, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.

• For the 2018 Senate elections, both Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) and PML-Q agreed to give second priority votes to each other’s candidates in Punjab. However, the results saw PTI securing only one seat from Punjab and PML-Q securing no seats from Punjab as well as the other provinces.

• PML-Q and PTI have entered a seat adjustment agreement for the 2018 general elections. This includes a pact on the three Islamabad NA seats where PML-Q will be supporting PTI candidates.

Criticism and controversy

• The party formed by dissident PML-N members in 2002 became an integral part of Musharraf's government and acquired the nickname of ‘King’s party’. PML-Q chief Shujaat Hussain was also made prime minister, although for a short period, during Musharraf's presidency.

• Aside from Musharraf, PML-Q was also criticised for the 2007 Lal Masjid operation. The crackdown on the controversial mosque in the capital ended in a bloody eight-day siege, killing at least 58 Pakistani troops and seminary students.

• Earlier this year, PML-Q was criticised for playing a role in the no-confidence motion against then provincial chief minister Sanaullah Zehri. The motion created a political crisis in Balochistan which eventually led to Zehri's resignation and the election of then PML-Q leader Abdul Quddus Bizenjo to the post of chief minister. Bizenjo later on resigned from PML-Q and formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) in March.