The Minister of Defence (Urdu: 'وزیرِ دفاع') heads the Ministry of Defence. The minister serves in the cabinet of the Prime Minister and is required to be a member of Parliament.

In the history of the country, the defence portfolio has usually been headed by the head of the government, be that the President or Prime Minister of the country. The first defence minister was Liaquat Ali Khan.

List of ministers

;Legend

{{colorbox|wheat}} Caretaker minister
{{note label|†|†|†}} Died in office

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! colspan="2" rowspan="2"\| Portrait ! rowspan="2" style="width:16em"\| Name {{small\|(Born{{ndash}}Died)}} ! colspan="3"\| Tenure ! rowspan="2" style="width:9em"\| Party ! rowspan="2" style="width:8em"\| Government ! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="width:10em"\| Head of Government
style="width:8em"\| From ! style="width:8em"\| To ! style="width:6em"\| Length
colspan="10"\| Federal Minister of Defence
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Liaquat Ali Khan {{small\|(1947{{ndash}}1951) MCA for East Bengal}} (Prime Minister) \| 15 August 1947 \| 16 October 1951{{ref label\|†\|†\|†}} \| {{ayd\|15 Aug 1947\|16 Oct 1951}} \| rowspan="5"\| Muslim League \| Liaquat \| style="width:0.01em" bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| Self
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin {{small\|(1894{{ndash}}1964) MCA for East Bengal}} (Prime Minister) \| 24 October 1951 \| 17 April 1953 \| {{ayd\|24 Oct 1951\|17 Apr 1953}} \| Nazimuddin \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| Self
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Mohammad Ali Bogra {{small\|(1909–1963) MCA for East Bengal}} (Prime Minister) \| 18 April 1953 \| 24 October 1954 \| {{ayd\|18 Apr 1953\|24 Oct 1954}} \| rowspan="2"\| Bogra \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Mohammad Ali Bogra
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| {{small\|General}} Muhammad Ayub Khan {{small\|(1907{{ndash}}1974)}} {{small\|Commander-in-Chief of the Army}} \| 24 October 1954 \| 11 August 1955 \| {{ayd\|24 Oct 1954\|11 Aug 1955}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Chaudhry Muhammad Ali {{small\|(1905{{ndash}}1982) MNA for Punjab}} (Prime Minister) \| 12 August 1955 \| 12 September 1956 \| {{ayd\|12 Aug 1955\|12 Sep 1956}} \| Muhammad Ali \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| Self
bgcolor="{{party color\|Awami League}}"\| \| 70px \| Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy {{small\|(1892{{ndash}}1963) MNA for East Bengal}} (Prime Minister) \| 13 September 1956 \| 18 October 1957 \| {{ayd\|13 Sep 1956\|18 Oct 1957}} \| Awami League \| Suhrawardy \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Awami League}}"\| \| Self
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Mumtaz Daultana {{small\|(1916{{ndash}}1965) MNA for Punjab}} \| 19 October 1957 \| 18 December 1957 \| {{ayd\|19 Oct 1957\|18 Dec 1957}} \| Muslim League \| Chundrigar \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| I. I. Chundrigar
colspan="3"\| Federal Minister \| rowspan="4"\| 19 December 1957 \| rowspan="4"\| 8 April 1958 \| rowspan="4"\| {{ayd\|19 Dec 1957\|8 Apr 1958}} \| rowspan="4"\| Republican Party \| rowspan="4"\| Noon \| rowspan="4" bgcolor="{{party color\|Republican Party (Pakistan)}}"\| \| rowspan="4"\| Sir Feroz Khan Noon
bgcolor="{{party color\|Republican Party (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Sir Feroz Khan Noon {{small\|(1893–1970) MCA for Punjab}} (Prime Minister)
colspan="3"\| Minister of State
bgcolor="{{party color\|Republican Party (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Akbar Bugti {{small\|(1926{{ndash}}2006)}}
colspan="10"\| Federal Minister of Defence
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Muhammad Ayub Khuhro {{small\|(1901{{ndash}}1980) MNA for Sindh}} \| 9 April 1958 \| 7 October 1958 \| {{ayd\|9 Apr 1958\|7 Oct 1958}} \| rowspan="2"\| Muslim League \| Noon \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Republican Party (Pakistan)}}"\| \| Sir Feroz Khan Noon
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| {{small\|Field Marshal}} Muhammad Ayub Khan {{small\|(1907{{ndash}}1974)}} (President) \| rowspan="2"\| 28 October 1958 \| rowspan="2"\| 21 October 1966 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|28 Oct 1958\|21 Oct 1966}} \| rowspan="3"\| Ayub \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| rowspan="3"\| Muhammad Ayub Khan {{small\|(President)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Convention Muslim League}}"\| \| Convention Muslim League \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Convention Muslim League}}"\|
bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| 70px \| {{small\|Vice Admiral}} Afzal Rahman Khan {{small\|(1921{{ndash}}1983)}} \| 12 October 1966 \| 5 April 1969 \| {{ayd\|12 Oct 1966\|5 Apr 1969}} \| Military {{small\|(Non-partisan)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| 70px \| {{small\|General}} Yahya Khan {{small\|(1917{{ndash}}1980)}} (Chief Martial Law Administrator) \| 25 March 1969 \| 20 December 1971 \| {{ayd\|25 Mar 1969\|20 Dec 1971}} \| Military {{small\|(Non-partisan)}} \| Yahya \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| Self {{small\|(President)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Zulfikar Ali Bhutto {{small\|(1928{{ndash}}1979) MNA for 116 Larkana-I}} (President until 14 Aug 1973 Prime Minister from 14 Aug 1973) \| 20 December 1971 \| 5 July 1977 \| {{ayd\|20 Dec 1971\|5 Jul 1977}} \| Pakistan People's Party \| Bhutto \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| 70px \| {{small\|General}} Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq {{small\|(1924{{ndash}}1988)}} (Chief Martial Law Administrator) \| 5 July 1977 \| 27 Aug 1978 \| {{ayd\|5 Jul 1977\|27 Aug 1978}} \| Military {{small\|(Non-partisan)}} \| rowspan="5"\| Haq \| rowspan="5" bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| rowspan="5"\| Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq {{small\|(President)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| Ali Ahmad Talpur {{small\|(1915–1987)}} \| 27 August 1978 \| 25 February 1985 \| {{ayd\|27 Aug 1978\|25 Feb 1985}} \| Independent
bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| 70px \| {{small\|General}} Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq {{small\|(1924{{ndash}}1988)}} (President) \| 27 February 1985 \| 24 March 1985 \| {{ayd\|27 Feb 1985\|24 Mar 1985}} \| Military {{small\|(Non-partisan)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| Muhammad Junejo {{small\|(1932{{ndash}}1993)}} (Prime Minister) \| 25 March 1985 \| 29 May 1988 \| {{ayd\|25 Mar 1985\|29 May 1988}} \| rowspan="3"\| Independent
rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| 70px \| rowspan="2"\| Mahmoud Haroon {{small\|(1920{{ndash}}2008)}} \| 9 June 1988 \| 17 August 1988 \| rowspan="2"\| {{ayd\|9 Jun 1988\|2 Dec 1988}}
17 August 1988 \| 2 December 1988 \| Ishaq Khan \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Ghulam Ishaq Khan {{small\|(Acting President)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Benazir Bhutto {{small\|(1953{{ndash}}2007) MNA for 166 Larkana-III}} (Prime Minister) \| 4 December 1988 \| 6 August 1990 \| {{ayd\|4 Dec 1988\|6 Aug 1990}} \| Pakistan People's Party \| Bhutto I \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| Self
colspan="10"\| {{nobold\|Caretaker ministry served during this interval}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Nawaz Sharif {{small\|(born 1949) MNA for 12 Abbottabad-II}} (Prime Minister) \| 6 November 1990 \| 10 September 1991 \| {{ayd\|6 Nov 1990\|10 Sep 1991}} \| rowspan="2"\| Muslim League {{small\|(IJI)}} \| rowspan="2"\| Nawaz I \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Nawaz Sharif
bgcolor="{{party color\|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"\| \| 70px \| Ghous Ali Shah {{small\|(born 1934)}} \| 10 September 1991 \| 18 April 1993 \| {{ayd\|10 Sep 1991\|18 Apr 1993}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| bgcolor="wheat"\| Hazar Khan Bijarani {{small\|(1946{{ndash}}2018)}} {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 18 April 1993 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 26 May 1993 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{ayd\|18 Apr 1993\|26 May 1993}} \| Independent {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| Mazari \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Balakh Sher Mazari {{small\|(Caretaker)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| 70px \| Ghous Ali Shah {{small\|(born 1934)}} \| 26 May 1993 \| 18 July 1993 \| {{ayd\|26 May 1993\|18 Jul 1993}} \| Pakistan Muslim League (N) {{small\|(IJI)}} \| Nawaz I \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| Nawaz Sharif
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{small\|Lieutenant General (Retd)}} Rehm Dil Bhatti {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 23 July 1993 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 19 October 1993 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{ayd\|23 Jul 1993\|19 Oct 1993}} \| Independent {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| Qureshi \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Moeenuddin Ahmad Qureshi {{small\|(Caretaker)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Aftab Shaban Mirani {{small\|MNA for 154 Shikarpur-I}} \| 19 October 1993 \| 5 November 1996 \| {{ayd\|19 Oct 1993\|5 Nov 1996}} \| Pakistan People's Party \| Bhutto II \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| Benazir Bhutto
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| bgcolor="wheat"\| Shahid Hamid {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 11 November 1996 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 17 February 1997 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{ayd\|11 Nov 1996\|17 Feb 1997}} \| Independent {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| Khalid \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Malik Meraj Khalid {{small\|(Caretaker)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| 70px \| Nawaz Sharif {{small\|(born 1949) MNA for 12 Abbottabad-II}} (Prime Minister) \| 17 February 1997 \| 12 October 1999 \| {{ayd\|17 Feb 1997\|12 Oct 1999}} \| Pakistan Muslim League (N) \| Nawaz II \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| Self
bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| 70px \| {{small\|General}} Pervez Musharraf {{small\|(1943{{ndash}}2023)}} (Chief Executive) \| 12 October 1999 \| 23 November 2002 \| {{ayd\|12 Oct 1999\|23 Nov 2002}} \| Military {{small\|(Non-partisan)}} \| Musharraf \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Military}}"\| \| Self {{small\|(Chief Executive)}}
rowspan="3" bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians}}"\| \| rowspan="3"\| 70px \| rowspan="3"\| Rao Sikandar Iqbal {{small\|(1943{{ndash}}2010) MNA for 144 Okara-II}} (Senior Minister) \| rowspan="3"\| 23 November 2002 \| rowspan="3"\| 15 November 2007 \| rowspan="3"\| {{ayd\|23 Nov 2002\|15 Nov 2007}} \| rowspan="3"\| Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians \| Jamali \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (Q)}}"\| \| Zafarullah Khan Jamali
Hussain \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (Q)}}"\| \| Shujaat Hussain
Aziz \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (Q)}}"\| \| Shaukat Aziz
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| bgcolor="wheat"\| Salim Abbas Jilani {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 15 November 2007 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 24 March 2008 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{ayd\|15 Nov 2007\|24 Mar 2008}} \| Independent {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| Soomro \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Muhammad Mian Soomro {{small\|(Caretaker)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Peoples Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Ahmad Mukhtar {{small\|(1946{{ndash}}2020) MNA for 105 Gujrat-II}} \| 31 March 2008 \| 3 June 2012 \| {{Ayd\|31 Mar 2008\|3 Jun 2012}} \| rowspan="2"\| Pakistan People's Party \| Gillani \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| Yousaf Raza Gillani
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Peoples Party}}"\| \| 70px \| Naveed Qamar {{small\|(born 1955) MNA for 222 Hyderabad-V}} \| 4 June 2012 \| 16 March 2013 \| {{ayd\|4 Jun 2012\|16 Mar 2013}} \| Ashraf \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan People's Party}}"\| \| Raja Pervaiz Ashraf
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| \| bgcolor="wheat"\| Mir Hazar Khan Khoso {{small\|(1929{{ndash}}2021)}} (Prime Minister) {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 4 April 2013 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 4 June 2013 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{ayd\|4 Apr 2013\|4 Jun 2013}} \| Independent {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| Khoso \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Self {{small\|(Caretaker)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| 70px \| Nawaz Sharif {{small\|(born 1949) MNA for 120 Lahore-III}} (Prime Minister) \| 7 June 2013 \| 26 November 2013 \| {{ayd\|7 Jun 2013\|26 Nov 2013}} \| rowspan="3"\| Pakistan Muslim League (N) \| rowspan="2"\| Nawaz III \| rowspan="2" bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| rowspan="2"\| Nawaz Sharif
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| 70px \| Khawaja Asif {{small\|(born 1949) MNA for 71 Sialkot}} \| 27 November 2013 \| 28 July 2017 \| {{ayd\|27 Nov 2013\|28 Jul 2017}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| 70px \| Khurram Dastgir {{small\|(born 1970) MNA for 96 Gujranwala-II}} \| 4 August 2017 \| 31 May 2018 \| {{ayd\|4 Aug 2017\|31 May 2018}} \| Abbasi \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| bgcolor="wheat"\| Abdullah Hussain Haroon {{small\|(born 1950) (Caretaker)}} \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 5 June 2018 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 18 August 2018 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{ayd\|5 Jun 2018\|18 Aug 2018}} \| Independent {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| Mulk \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Nasirul Mulk {{small\|(Caretaker)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf}}"\| \| 70px \| Pervez Khattak {{small\|(born 1950) MNA for 25 Nowshera-I}} \| 20 August 2018 \| 10 April 2022 \| {{ayd\|20 Aug 2018\|10 Apr 2022}} \| Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf \| Imran \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf}}"\| \| Imran Khan
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| 70px \| Khawaja Asif {{small\|(born 1949) MNA for 73 Sialkot-II}} \| 19 April 2022 \| 10 August 2023 \| {{ayd\|19 Apr 2022\|10 Aug 2023}} \| Pakistan Muslim League (N) \| Shehbaz I \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| Shehbaz Sharif
bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| 70px \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{small\|Lieutenant General (Retd)}} Anwar Ali Hyder {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 17 August 2023 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| 4 March 2024 \| bgcolor="wheat"\| {{ayd\|17 Aug 2023\|4 Mar 2024}} \| Independent {{small\|(Caretaker)}} \| Kakar \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Independent}}"\| \| Anwaar ul Haq Kakar {{small\|(Caretaker)}}
bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| 70px \| Khawaja Asif {{small\|(born 1949) MNA for 71 Sialkot-II}} \| 11 March 2024 \| Incumbent \| {{ayd\|11 Mar 2024}} \| Pakistan Muslim League (N) \| Shehbaz II \| bgcolor="{{party color\|Pakistan Muslim League (N)}}"\| \| Shehbaz Sharif

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! colspan="2" rowspan="2"| Portrait

! rowspan="2" style="width:16em"| Name
{{small|(Born{{ndash}}Died)}}

! colspan="3"| Tenure

! rowspan="2" style="width:9em"| Party

! rowspan="2" style="width:8em"| Government

! rowspan="2" colspan="2" style="width:10em"| Head of Government

style="width:8em"| From

! style="width:8em"| To

! style="width:6em"| Length

colspan="10"| Federal Minister of Defence

bgcolor="{{party color|Muslim League (Pakistan)}}"|

Minister of Defence (Pakistan)

List of ministers

See also

Notes

References

External links