Pakistan Muslim League – Zia
Political party in Pakistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pakistan Muslim League – Zia (PML–Z),[a] informally referred to as the Zia League,[b] is a Pakistani political party with a right-wing political position and an Islamist and Ziaist ideology. Named after Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan, the party is headquartered in Bahawalnagar and led by Zia's son Ijaz-ul-Haq.
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Pakistan Muslim League – Zia پاکستان مسلم لیگ – ضیاء | |
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| Abbreviation | PML–Z |
| Leader | Ijaz-ul-Haq |
| Founded | October 2002 |
| Headquarters | Bahawalnagar, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Ideology | Ziaism |
| Political position | Right-wing to far-right[1] |
| Colors | Green |
| Senate | 0 / 96 |
| National Assembly | 1 / 336 |
| Punjab Assembly | 1 / 371 |
| Election symbol | |
Helicopter  | |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| www | |
The party was founded in 2002 by Zia's son Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq. With the 2002 general elections, Ijaz won his National Assembly seat and merged with the Pervez Musharraf-endorsed Pakistan Muslim League (Q).[2] It gained the federal religious affairs ministry under Haq. After PML-Q was routed following the general elections of 2008, PML-Z separated from the larger party in February 2010.[citation needed]
In March 2010, PML–Zia successfully contested by-elections held in Bahawalnagar for Member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly, upsetting the Pakistan Peoples Party.[3] During the 2010 Pakistan floods, the party also came to national attention for distributing relief goods worth millions of rupees in Southern Punjab.[4][2]
On 9 October 2011, PML–Zia became the only party to support the PML-N's threat to dissolve the Punjab Assembly and pre-empt the PPP's expected victory in the 2012 Senate elections.[5] In the general elections in 2013, PML–Z contested two seats and won again from NA-191 Bahawalnagar in the National Assembly, and two seats in the Punjab Assembly. Haq's constituency NA-191 recorded the highest voter turnout in the country for 2013.[6]
On 19 March 2023, party leader Ijaz-ul-Haq along with his party members was reported to have joined PTI after meeting with Imran Khan. It was also reported that PML–Zia was merged into PTI.[7][8] It was later on 29 May, that he denied the rumours of PML–Zia getting merged into PTI.[9][10]
Electoral history
National Assembly elections
| Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 78,798 | 0.27% | 1 / 342 |
 1 |
| 2013 | 128,510 | 0.28% | 1 / 342 |
1 |
| 2018 | 1,406 | 0.00% | 0 / 342 |
 1 |
| 2024 | 110,249 | 0.19% | 1 / 336 |
1 |