Months of political wrangling between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, President Farooq Leghari and the judiciary came to an end on

2 December when Leghari resigned as president. On 3 December, Waseem Sajjad, speaker of the senate, took up office as acting president. A new president must be elected by both chambers of parliament and the provincial assemblies within 30 days. This conclusion to the constitutional crisis has secured Sharif's position as prime minister, analysts say.

The dispute began when Sharif challenged the supreme court's appointment of a number of judges. Although Sharif eventually backed down in early November, the court initiated contempt of court proceedings against Sharif for comments he had made whilst opposing the appointment of the judges. When Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah tried to restore the power of dismissing the prime minister to the president, he was suspended by 10 supreme court judges. President Leghari, Shah's ally, endorsed the suspension and then resigned, effectively ending the crisis.

Chief of Staff General Jehangir Karamat was praised by the government for acting to cool tempers between the two sides. The traditionally powerful army said that Karamat had no intentions of claiming power for the army.

Analysts welcomed an end to the crisis but said that the dispute has paralysed economic activity, raising fears that economic targets such as revenue collection may be missed. Analysts also said that confidence will have been undermined and the perception of political risk increased. Postponement of international borrowings worth about $800 million will have had a negative impact on foreign reserves.