Takht e Lahore

Society Pakistan & World Affairs
1

A few days back Zardari was saying that he wants to create a Seraiki province so as to free the Seraikis from the clutches of takht e Lahore and that the Prime minister was being bullied since he belonged to the Seraiki area.

For the past few months we have been hearing about a term called Takht e Lahore, lets discuss about that myth and see if there is any truth to this allegation.

Let’s see the Chief Ministers of Punjab

List of Chief Ministers of Punjab

Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[TABLE]

Name of Chief Minister

Entered Office

Left Office

Belongs to

Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot

August 15, 1947

January 25, 1949

Seraiki Belt

Governor’s rule

January 25, 1949

April 5, 1951

Mian Mumtaz Daultana

April 15, 1951

April 3, 1953

Seraiki Belt

Feroz Khan Noon

April 3, 1953

May 21, 1955

Seraiki Belt

Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti

May 21, 1955

October 14, 1955

Seraiki Belt

Part of West Pakistan province

October 14, 1955

June 30, 1970

Martial law

July 1, 1970

May 2, 1972

Malik Meraj Khalid

May 2, 1972

November 12, 1973

Punjab

Ghulam Mustafa Khar

November 12, 1973

March 15, 1974

Seraiki Belt

Hanif Ramay

March 15, 1974

July 15, 1975

Punjab

Sadiq Hussain Qureshi

July 15, 1975

July 5, 1977

Seraiki Belt

Martial law](Zia-ul-Haq - Wikipedia)

July 5, 1977

April 9, 1985

Nawaz Sharif

April 9, 1985

August 13, 1990

Punjab

Ghulam Haider Wyne

November 8, 1990

April 25, 1993

Seraiki Belt

Manzoor Wattoo (1st time)

April 25, 1993

July 19, 1993

Punjab

Manzoor Elahi (caretaker)

July 19, 1993

October 20, 1993

Punjab

Manzoor Wattoo (2nd time)

October 20, 1993

September 13, 1995

Punjab

Sardar Arif Nakai

September 13, 1995

November 3, 1996

Punjab

Manzoor Wattoo (3rd time)

November 3, 1996

November 16, 1996

Punjab

Mian Afzal Hayat (caretaker)

November 16, 1996

February 20, 1997

Punjab

Shahbaz Sharif (1st time)

February 20, 1997

October 12, 1999

Punjab

Governor’s rule

October 11, 1999

November 29, 2002

Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi

November 29, 2002

November 18, 2007

Punjab

Shiekh Ejaz Nisar (caretaker)

November 19, 2007

April 11, 2008

Dost Muhammad Khosa

April 12, 2008

June 8, 2008

Seraiki Belt

Shahbaz Sharif (2nd time)

June 8, 2008

February 25, 2009

Punjab

Governor’s rule

February 25, 2009

March 30, 2009

Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif

March 30, 2009

Incumbent

Punjab

If you see the chief ministers of the Punjab from 1947 to 1985, the hold of the province has exclusively been with the families of Seraiki belt. After 1985 we saw some people arising from Punjab including Sharifs and Chaudhary Brothers. Subtracting the martial laws, the civilian government has functioned for around 34 years in which about 11 years the politicians of Seraiki belt have been Chief Ministers and 23 years from Punjab areas.

Governor of Punjab, Pakistan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Governors of Punjab:

[TABLE]

Name of Governor

Entered Office

Left Office

Belongs to

Sir Francis Mudie

15 August 1947

2 August 1949

Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar

2 August 1949

24 November 1951

KP

Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar

24 November 1951

2 May 1953

Bombay

Mian Aminuddin

2 May 1953

24 June 1954

Habib Ibrahim Rahimtoola

26 September 1954

26 November 1954

Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani

27 November 1954

14 October 1955

Seraiki belt

Part of West Pakistan province

14 October 1955

1 July 1970

Lieutenant-General Attiqur Rahman, PA

1 July 1970

December 1971

Punjab

Ghulam Mustafa Khar (1st term)

December 1971

February 1973

Seraiki Belt

Hanif Ramay

February 1973

March 1974

Punjab

Sadiq Hussain Qureshi

March 1974

13 March 1975

Seraiki Belt

Ghulam Mustafa Khar (2nd term)

13 March 1975

31 July 1975

Seraiki Belt

Mohammad Abbas Abbasi

31 July 1975

September 1977

seraiki Belt

Aslam Riaz Hussain

September 1977

September 1978

Punjab

Lieutenant-General Sawar Khan, PA

September 1978

March 1980

Punjab

Lieutenant-General (retired) Ghulam Jilani Khan, PA[SUP][2]](Governor of Punjab, Pakistan - Wikipedia)[/SUP]

1 May 1980

December 1985

Punjab

Makhdoom Sajjad Hussain Qureshi

December 1985

December 1988

Seraiki belt

General (retired) Tikka Khan

December 1988

August 1990

Punjab

Mian Muhammad Azhar

August 1990

1992

Punjab

Chaudhary Altaf Hussain

1992

21 May 1995

Punjab

Lieutenant-General (retired) Raja Saroop Khan, PA

19 June 1995

5 November 1996

AJK

Khawaja Tariq Rahim

5 November 1996

10 March 1997

Punjab

Shahid Hamid

10 March 1997

17 August 1999

Zulfiqar Ali Khosa

17 August 1999

21 October 1999

Seraiki belt

Lieutenant General (retired) Muhammad Safdar

21 October 1999

29 October 2001

Punjab

Lieutenant-General (retired) Khalid Maqbool

29 October 2001

16 May 2008

Punjab

Salmaan Taseer*

17 May 2008

4 January 2011

Punjab

Latif Khosa

13 January 2011

Incumbent[SUP][3]](Governor of Punjab, Pakistan - Wikipedia)[/SUP]

Seraiki belt

From Seraiki belt again over 10 years and Punjab around 28 years.

The Punjab includes the Potohar area.

2

Re: Takht e Lahore

Prime Ministers:

[TABLE=“width: 335”]

Names
From
to
Belong to

Liaqat Ali Khan
14-Aug-47
16-Oct-51
Sindh

Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin
17-Oct-51
17-Apr-53
Bengal

Muhammad Ali Bogra
17-Apr-53
12-Aug-55
Bengal

Chaudhary Muhammad Ali
12-Aug-55
12-Sep-56
punjab

Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
12-Sep-56
17-Oct-57
Bengal

Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar
17-Oct-57
16-Dec-57
Sindh

Sir Feroz Khan Noon
16-Dec-57
7-Oct-58
Punjab/Seraiki belt

Nurul Amin
7-Dec-71
20-Dec-71
Bengal

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
14-Aug-73
5-Jul-77
Sindh

Muhammad Khan Junejo
24-Mar-85
29-May-88
Sindh

Benazir bhutto
2-Dec-88
6-Aug-90
Sindh

Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi
6-Aug-90
6-Nov-90
Sindh

Nawaz Sharif
6-Nov-90
18-Apr-93
Punjab

Balakh Sher Mazari

18-Apr-93
26-May-93
Punjab/Seraiki belt

Nawaz Sharif
26-May-93
18-Jul-93
Punjab

Moeenuddin Ahmed Qureshi
18-Jul-93
19-Oct-93
Imported

Benazir Bhutto
19-Oct-93
5-Nov-96
Sindh

Malik Meraj Khalid
5-Nov-96
17-Feb-97
Punjab

Nawaz Sharif
17-Feb-97
12-Oct-99
Punjab

Zafarullah Khan Jamali
21-Nov-02
26-Jun-04
Balochistan

Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain
30-Jun-04
20-Aug-04
Punjab

Shaukat Aziz
20-Aug-04
16-Nov-07
Imported

Muhammad Mian Soomro
16-Nov-07
25-Mar-08
Sindh

Yousaf Raza Gillani
25-Mar-08
31/03/2012
Punjab/Seraiki belt

The Prime ministers from Punjab have been less than 7 years, if we include the Seraiki belt as well we have a little less than 12 years where as we have prime ministers of Sindh for a little less than 17 years.

3

Re: Takht e Lahore

List of Presidents of Pakistan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Presidents

[TABLE=“width: 351”]

Names
Left office
Political party
From

Iskandar Mirza
23-Mar-56
27-Oct-58
Bengal

Ayub Khan
27-Oct-58
25-Mar-69
KP

Yahya Khan
25-Mar-69
20-Dec-71
KP

Bhutto
20-Dec-71
13-Aug-73
Sindh

Fazal Illahi Chaudhary
13-Aug-73
16-Sep-78
Punjab

Zia ulhaq
16-Sep-78
17-Aug-88
Punjab

Ghulam Ishaq Khan
17-Aug-88
18-Jul-93
KP

Wasim Sajjad
18-Jul-93
14-Nov-93
Punjab

Farooq Leghari
14-Nov-93
2-Dec-97
Punjab/ Seraiki belt

Wasim Sajjad
2-Dec-97
1-Jan-98
Punjab

Rafiq Tarrar
1-Jan-98
20-Jun-01
Punjab

Pervez Musharraf
20-Jun-01
18-Aug-08
Sindh

Muhammad Mian Soomro
18-Aug-08
9-Sep-08
Sindh

Asif Ali Zardari
9-Sep-08
31-Mar-12
Sindh

This means Punjabi Presidents have served for around 18 and a half years if we include the term of Leghari in that we get less than 22 and a half years where as Sindhi presidents (if we include Musharraf in) to be less than 12 and a half years.

4

Re: Takht e Lahore

If we see the chief of army staffs: Chief of Army Staff (Pakistan) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[TABLE=“width: 279”]

Name
Term of Appointment
From

General Sir Frank Messervy
August 15, 1947 – February 10, 1948

General Sir Douglas Gracey
February 11, 1948 – January 16, 1951

Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan
January 16, 1951 – October 26, 1958
KP

General Muhammad Musa
October 27, 1958 – June 17, 1966
Balochistan

General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan
June 18, 1966 – December 20, 1971
Punjab

Lieutenant General Gul Hassan Khan
December 20, 1971 – March 3, 1972
KP

General Tikka Khan
March 3, 1972 – March 1, 1976
Punjab

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
March 1, 1976 – August 17, 1988
Punjab

General Mirza Aslam Beg
August 17, 1988 – August 16, 1991
Sindh

General Asif Nawaz
August 16, 1991 – January 8, 1993
Punjab

General Abdul Waheed
January 11, 1993 – January 12, 1996
KP

General Jehangir Karamat
January 12, 1996 – October 6, 1998
Sindh

General Pervez Musharraf
October 6, 1998 – November 28, 2007
Sindh

General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani
November 29, 2007 – Present
Punjab

Again Punjab around 26 and a half years, KP 11 and a half years, Sindh around 15 and Balochistan 8.

So what exactly is the criteria for Takht e Lahore?

Sindh has had more prime ministers, coas are in Punjabs favour but otherwise pretty spread out, its only the presidential post which has remained with Punjab more and that in a parliamentary democracy should be a powerless post in any case.

5

Re: Takht e Lahore

Takht e Lahore is not the name of any chief minister or governor .
It is name of a mentality grown up in the result of historic factors .
Perhaps it started from Ariana age however it is known since Muslim invaders from west .
However this word is being used since Maharajah Ranjeet Singh.

6

Re: Takht e Lahore

I dont know but it seems as if Zardari and co uses that term for Punjab. If we see Punjab we have Chaudharies and Sharifs in politics, Zia and Kayani as COAS otherwise presidents should just be a constitutional position and nothing else.

If we see the Pakistan that existed between 1947 to mid 70's there was negligible participation from Punjab (in governance and military) but there was no voice of this kind from there, after zia's martial law we see some politicians arising from Punjab.

7

Re: Takht e Lahore

but it is the name given to something which can be blamed for all the failures of government.

8

Re: Takht e Lahore

yet another bashing thread for Zardari and PPP. Keep it up it is your foremost duty.

9

Re: Takht e Lahore

Negligible participation of punjabis in the army?

10

Re: Takht e Lahore

If someone is talking to you in the language of facts and figures, and increasing your knowledge about your country and its history, you should be obliged to him for taking initiavite, time and efforts to put together so much of relevant information in one thread.

You have the right to disagree with him, but for a starter, a few words for his efforts will only help increase your stature.

11

Re: Takht e Lahore

aap ka khiyal hay juhla aap say agree kar jaain gaiy :hmmm:
unhoon nay kaan ko chitta he kahna hay :hehe:

12

Re: Takht e Lahore

:hayaa: Suna tha raat ko aatmaen bhatakti thi

13

Re: Takht e Lahore

Raat sooney ki hoti hai…gs pe aane ki nahi:smilestar:

14

Re: Takht e Lahore

You're right. But then again some folks live on emtional rhetoric, and hogwash meant only to stir instability. For more see signature.

Thank you OP for taking the time, and making the effort.

15

Takht e Lahore

Takht e Lahore is a true fact.. 1st person to destabilise democracy Ghulam Muhammad , Zia again. Left an even worse legacy. Most military ops have been in other provinces

16

Takht e Lahore

All the best performing districts in HDI indicators are in northern Punjab except Karachi . All the poorest are in balochistan , fata and northern kp

17

Re: Takht e Lahore

Where do you suppose the money goes that is given to the elected politicians from those regions for local projects? Or rather what do they do with the money they ask for in the name of Initiatives, and projects to better serve public that they claim to represent?

18

Re: Takht e Lahore

Very good arguments against the topic :k:

19

Re: Takht e Lahore

Yes me too look this term on this point of view.

20

Re: Takht e Lahore

So Jamali was a Baloch president but we all no the plight of the Baloch. It does not matter if you have a Chief Minister from a particular area - it does not make it a representative and egalitarian system. There are huge differences in Northern Punjab and Southern Punjab, not to forget Northern Punjab and the other provinces. Northern Punjab is more developed.

The way Punjab is treated with others is different - has there never really been a military operation there?

I am by no means a fan of the PPP but the way the PPP and its supporters and viewed by people from Northern Punjab and even on this forum simply because they do not have a strong enough presence there shows there is an element of discrimination. Pepople out of North Punjab simply do not understand the appeal of the PPP in most of Pakistan. They are to an extent seen as traitors even though they are the only party which unites most Pakistan (for better or for worse).

On the other hand it maybe that politicians from Northern Punjab are fairer, less corrupt and more organised in terms of development. Personally I feel it is a mix of everything. Maybe Punjab is more developed because it was the region more loyal to the British in Pakistan and it was there the British centred the power and as Pakistan came aout in 1947, we never moved on from there.