Government and power in Pakistan

Who leads Pakistan, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Federal parliamentary republic.

Who leads Pakistan?

• Head of state: Asif Ali Zardari (President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan)
• Head of government: Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif (Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan)
• Foreign minister: Mohammad Ishaq Dar (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Pakistan

Government

• Pakistan government portal
  Publishes information on federal ministries, divisions and official announcements.

Parliament

• National Assembly of Pakistan
  Publishes debates, bills, resolutions and the list of members.
• Senate of Pakistan
  Publishes debates, bills and committee reports of the upper chamber.

Courts

• Supreme Court of Pakistan
  Publishes judgments, cause lists and case status information.
• Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan
  Publishes cause lists, case search, court notices and statistics of the court set up under the 27th Amendment.

Public audit

• Auditor-General of Pakistan
  Publishes audit reports on federal and provincial accounts.

Ombudsman

• Wafaqi Mohtasib (Federal Ombudsman)
  Publishes annual reports and findings on complaints against federal agencies.

Access to information

• Pakistan Information Commission
  Decides appeals under the Right of Access to Information Act 2017 and publishes its decisions and guidance for public information officers.

Public contracts

• Public Procurement Regulatory Authority
  Publishes federal tenders, procurement rules and contract award notices.
• e-Pak Acquisition and Disposal System (e-PADS)
  PPRA's electronic system for publishing federal bids and receiving tenders online.

Laws and the official gazette

• Pakistan Code (Ministry of Law and Justice)
  Publishes the federal statute book with current and historical Acts and ordinances.

Government below the national level

• Provinces (4: Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan) plus Islamabad Capital Territory; Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir have separate arrangements: Elected provincial assembly and chief minister; governor appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's advice
• Divisions and districts: Divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners are civil servants appointed by the provincial government
• Municipal level: metropolitan/municipal corporations, district councils, municipal and town committees, tehsil (sub-district) governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Elected councils; heads (mayors, chairs) elected directly or indirectly depending on the province's law
• Union councils, village councils and neighbourhood councils (about 11,700 in total): Directly elected members, with reserved seats for women, workers/peasants, youth and religious minorities

How local power works in Pakistan

Places in Pakistan

• The 116 largest cities
• Official statistics for Pakistan

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.