Republican Party (Pakistan)

The Pakistani Republican Party was formed in October 1955, by a break away faction of the Muslim League and other politicians supporting the creation of the West Pakistan province, on the instigation of key leaders in the military and civil service.^[1] The President of the party was Dr Khan Sahib, Chief Minister of West Pakistan. The main instigator behind this development was Iskander Mirza, the then Governor General of Pakistan. He was the vice president of this party and later became the inaugural President of Pakistan in 1956. The Central Parliamentary Leader was Sir Feroz Khan Noon, Prime Minister of Pakistan (1957 - 1958).^[2][3]

Nawab Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilbash, Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry (Gujrat District), Syed Amjad Ali (Lahore District), Sardar Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti (Muzaffargarh District), Col. Syed Abid Hussain (Jhang District), Sardar Amir Azam Khan, Syed Jamil Hussain Rizvi (Gujrat District), Makhdumzada Syed Hassan Mahmud (Rahim Yar Khan District), Mahr Muhammad Sadiq (Faisalabad District), Chaudhri Abdul Ghani Ghuman (Sialkot District), Begum Khudeja G. A. Khan (Faisalabad District), Rukan-ud-Daulah Shamsher Jang Ali-Haj Nawab Sajjad Ali Khan (Gujranwala District).

Kazi Fazllullah Ubedullah (Larkana District), Pirzada Abdus Sattar (Sukkur District), Mirza Mumtaz Hassan Qizilbash (Khairpur Mirs), Haji Mir Ali Ahmed Khan Talpur (Hyderabad District), Haji Najmuddin Laghari sirewal (badin District) and Syed Khair Shah Imam Ali Shah (Nawabshah District).

Dr. Khan Sahib, Sardar Abdur Rashid Khan, Khan Jalaluddin Khan Jalal Baba, Khan Nur Muhammad Khan and Khan Sakhi Jan Khan (Bannu District)

Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti (Dera Bugti), Jam Mir Ghulam Qadir Khan (Lasbela District) Sardar Hafeez and Sardar Waleed Umar Rind (Turbat)

The party was made up of many civil servants who favored democratic and new forms of government (including Republicanism).^[1] Civil servants advocated for a stronger central government in the West Pakistan province. Many of the Republican Party’s Military and Civil aligned factions opposed the Islamic right-wing ideology and advocated for Secular forms of government,^[5] but at the same time, being a offshoot party of the Conservative Muslim League, the party leaned to the Centre-right.^[1]

The Republican Party's whole founding ideology differed from the ideology of the Muslim League. The Republican Party wished to establish an independent West Pakistan province. The hope was for a better sense of unity throughout the country, just as the way East Pakistan was one province. The One Unit Scheme would unite the provinces of Balochistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas into one province known as the West Pakistan province, the One Unit Scheme ideology of removing inequality between East and West Pakistan by promoting the One Unit program was founded by several statesmen mainly from the Republican Party, and under Mohammad Ali Bogra.^[6]