Consititutional Development 25 Pages

8/2/2019 Consititutional Development 25 Pages

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STRUGGLE FOR CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND

ISLAMIC SYSTEM IN PAKISTAN

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah (QA Jinnah) said at Sibbi Durbar, on 14 February 1948:

"It is my belief that our salvation lies in following the golden rules of conduct set for us by our

great law-giver, the Prophet of Islam. Let us lay the foundation of our democracy on the basis oftruly Islamic ideals and principles. Our Almighty has taught us that our decisions in the affairs of

the state shall be guided by discussions and consultations".

It is clear that Pakistan was created in the name of Islam and the state was responsible to provide

conditions in which Pakistanis could mould their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam.But democratic system is central in the above statement of Quaid!

Under Section 8 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, the Government of India Act, 1935

became, with certain adaptations, became the working constitution of Pakistan.

But to frame a new constitution by the elected representatives of the free people of a sovereignstate, the first Constituent Assembly (Consembly) was formed to:

i). Frame a Constitution for the country, and

ii). Act as a Federal Legislative Assembly or Parliament until Constitution came

into effect.

The Consembly could amend the Indian Independence Act or Government of India Act, 1935, andno Act of British Parliament could be extended to Pakistan without legislation by it.

The first Consembly consisted of 69 members (later on increased to 79) as per following details:

Region / Province No. of Seats

East BengalPunjab

Sindh

NWFPBalochistan

State of Khairpur

State of Bahawalpur

States of BalochistanStates of NWFP

4422

05

0301

01

01

0101

Total 79

Post-independence history reveals that framers of the constitution had to face numerous diverseand complex difficulties that hindered the progress of constitution-making. These include:

i). The character of proposed constitution - the place which Islam should occupy;ii). Geographical division and the question of quantum of representation in federal

legislature;

iii). Distribution or allocation of powers between the federal government and the

provinces;

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iv). The language controversy;

v). Relationship between Executive and Legislature / parliamentary or presidentialform; and

vi). Most important, the provincial and parochial tussles.

The inaugural session of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was held in Karachi from 10 to

14 August 1947. Mr. J.N. Mandal, a member of the minority community from East Pakistan was

unanimously elected as temporary chairman on the first day of the session. QA Jinnah, being theonly candidate proposed for the presidency, was subsequently elected as President of the

Constituent Assembly on 11 August.

Constitution making in Pakistan became a highly complicated task. The first Consembly failed to

complete the task of framing a constitution; after some seven years of work it produced only twoor three drafts for the constitution. During this period the judiciary in Pakistan played a significant

role as custodian of the rule of law in Pakistan; an encouraging development for free institutions in

Pakistan.

The second Consembly of Pakistan which benefited from the findings and reports of its

predecessors, framed a Constitution in 1956. About the inefficiency of the Constituent AssemblyProfessor H. Rahman writes:"The assembly not only failed to produce a constitution, but also showed a tendency of corruption and

power-hunting. So, in October, 1954, it was dissolved by the Governor General on the alleged grounds of

inactivity, incompetency, corruption and misdeeds".

Keeping in view the same point, Keith Callard writes:

"Above all, what was lacking in the assembly was a sense of the House, a feeling that it is parliament that

sets the standards of public life and that ministers are to be measured by the House and not the House by

ministers. This is the essence of responsible parliamentary Government and it was not present in Pakistans

Consembly.

Perhaps it is worth summing up the reasons for the assembly's general and undoubted failure. Itwas too small to function as a national legislature and too many of its members had official duties

to perform, leaving for too few active back-benchers to advice and control was not adequately

representative of the country and as time went on this defect became more and more important.The opposition was a-negligible force".

OBJECTIVES RESOLUTION

The first big step in the framing of a constitution for Pakistan was taken by the Consembly on 12

March 1949, when it passed a resolution on the 'Aims and Objects of the Constitution', popularlyknown as the Objectives Resolution.

It laid the foundation of the constitution and indicated the broad outline of its structure. It was

described as the most important occasion in the life of Pakistan after its independence.

The resolution was moved by late Liaquat Ali Khan, the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. The

salient features of the Objectives Resolution are given below:

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i). The sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Allah Almighty.

ii). The State will exercise its authority through the elected representatives of thepeople.

iii). The principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as

enunciated by Islam, will be fully observed.

iv). Efforts to be taken to enable the Muslims to order their lives in individual andcollective spheres in accordance with the teachings of Islam as set out in Quran and Sunnah.

v). Rights and interests of the minorities be safeguarded and freedom of religion and

cultures.

vi). The territories included in Pakistan and such other territories to accede to Pakistanwill form a Federation wherein units will be autonomous.

vii). Fundamental rights of the citizens will be guaranteed, including equality of status,

of opportunity before law, social, economic and political justice, and freedom of thought,expression, belief, faith, worship and association, subject to law and public morality.

viii). The judiciary will be free and independent.

ix). The integrity of the territories of the Federation, its independence and all its rights

including its sovereign rights on land, sea and air will be safeguarded.

The most outstanding and novel feature of the Objectives Resolution was that it sought thefundamental principles of the new republic-its ideology, character, and form. Islam was adopted as

its ideological foundation. Federalism was adopted as it was recognized as the very basis of the

Lahore Resolution of March 1940. The form of the government was to be based on the Britishparliamentary model with a Prime Minister and a responsible Cabinet. Fundamental rights were to

be guaranteed, the rights of minorities were to be safeguarded, and the independence of the

judiciary was to be secured.

THE BASIC PRINCIPLES COMMITTEE

The first Consembly, like any other legislature, set up several committees and sub-committees tocarry out its task of framing a constitution. The Basic Principles Committee was the most

important one. It was appointed on 12 March 1949, when the Objectives Resolution was passed by

the Constitu1dcent Assembly; its task was to report in accordance with the Objectives. The mainclauses of this report were:

i). Objectives Resolution to form part of constitution as 'Directive Principles of StatePolicy.

ii). The state of Pakistan was to be a 'federation of provinces'.

iii). Central Legislature to consist of two Houses with equal powers. The Upper-Houseof Units - to consist of an equal number of representatives from all provinces, while the

Lower - House of People, was expected to give representation on population basis.

iv). Head of State to be a Muslim and elected by a joint session of the Houses for five

years.

v). Each province to have its own legislature elected on adult franchise basis for fiveyears.

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vi). The Head of Province was to be appointed by the Head of State for the term of five

years.

vii). For distribution of powers three lists proposed: Federal, Provincial and Concurrent.

viii). In case of inconsistency between the federal and the provincial law, the federal lawprevails.

ix). Urdu was to made national language of Pakistan.

The Report was subjected to severe criticism because of following reasons:

i). The report did not have Islamic character as proposed by the Objectives Resolution.

ii). East Pakistani leaders charged that their majority turned into a minority in the federallegislature.

iii). Declaration of Urdu as only national language, sparked agitation in East Pakistan,which strongly favoured Bengali to be adopted as another parallel national language of

Pakistan.

In view of all-round criticism and public pressure, Liaquat Ali Khan, the then Prime Minister

postponed the consideration of the Report in the Consembly, and invited further suggestions from

the people of Pakistan and expressed his willingness to accommodate as many points of view as

possible.

Before any acceptable results of the committee could be reported to the House, Liaquat Ali Khan was

assassinated at Committee Bagh (now Liaquat Bagh) Rawalpindi on 16 October, 1951. GovernorGeneral Khawaja Nazimuddin was now asked to assume office as Prime Minister and Mr. Ghulam

Mohammad, the Finance Minister in the Liaquat ministry, was appointed Governor General.

Notwithstanding the great sacrifices Liaquat Ali made for the achievement of Pakistan, he cannot

escape the criticism that there was a waste of time and neglect on his part in the process of framing

the constitution. There was no doubt heavy pressure of governmental business in the early days of

Pakistan, but no amount of administrative pre-occupation could justify the neglect to whichconstitution-making was subjected. Moreover, during his regime of four and a half years, he even

failed to propose the basic frame-work of the future constitution.

The task of constitution-making left incomplete by Liaquat Ali Khan was taken up by Khawaja

Nazimuddin on his assumption of the office of Prime Minister. He presented the consolidated

report of the Basic Principles Committee on 22 December 1952. Its chief recommendations wereas under:

i). The Central Legislature was to consist of two Houses for five years: the House ofUnits and theHouse of People. The former was to consist of 120 members, and the latter of

400 members, both possessing equal representation of the two wings of the country. The

share of West Pakistan was to be further divided amongst its provinces according to

population.

ii). The House of the People was to enjoy all real authority; the House of Units could

only recommend revision in legislation. Money bills were to be originated in House of

People.

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iii). In case of any conflict between the Houses, joint sitting of both Houses were

provided for, in which a simple majority would decide the issue.

iv). The Head of State be a Muslim and elected by a joint session of the Houses for five

years.

v). Each province to have its legislature elected on the basis of adult franchise for fiveyears.

vi). The Head of Province was to be appointed by the Head of State for the term of fiveyears.

vii). The distribution of powers contained in three lists: Federal, Provincial and

Concurrent.

viii). In case of inconsistency between the federal and provincial law, the federal law to

prevail.

ix). A board of ulema was proposed to be constituted, in order to check legislation inaccordance with the teachings of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah.

The Publication of the Basic Principles Committee Report on 22 December, 1952, raised acountry-wide storm. It gave rise to an unending controversy and generated bitterness between Eastand West Pakistan. The Report was strongly objected to on the following points:

i). The democratic principle was not acknowledged - East Pakistans majority reduced.

ii). There was a lack of a constitutional provision in case the two Houses were unable

to resolve a conflict in joint session.

iii). The report gave sweeping powers to a board of ulema who could monopolize the

right to interpret the Quran.

iv). The report remained silent on the issue of state language of Pakistan.

The report was scheduled to be discussed in the Consembly on 1 January, 1953, but on the demandof various political parties its consideration was postponed. By this time (1953) the political

situation of the country worsened and the constitutional deadlock became further complicated bythe growing demands of provincial autonomy.

As early as 1948, the founder of state, Jinnah, had warned the nation against this menace. He said,"If we begin to think of ourselves as Bengalis, Punjabis, Sindhis, etc. first, Muslims and Pakistanis

only incidentally, then Pakistan is bound to disintegrate".

But since his death, provincialism has seemed to be increasing, particularly on the issue ofconstitution-making.

Governor General Ghulam Mohammad used the situation in his favour and dismissed KhawajaNazimuddin on 16 April 1953. That extreme step again gave rise to an atmosphere of distrust,

suspicion, and fear between the people of the two wings.

MOHAMMAD ALI'S FORMULA

In the same month (17 April, 1953), Mohammad Ali Bogra was called from the United States of

America, where he was the Ambassador of Pakistan, and was appointed as the new Primer

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Minister. On his appointment Prime Minister Mohammad Ali considered it as one of his principal

tasks to overcome the constitutional dead lock. He was soon successful in achieving a compromiseon the issue of representation between East and West Pakistan in the federal legislature. He

presented his formula (modified version of Basic Principles Committee's Report) to the Consembly

on 7 October 1953 and subsequently adopted by the Assembly. It provided:

1. Central Legislature was to comprise of two Houses (Bicameral) with equal powers.

2. Upper House to have 10 members from East Pakistan and 40 members from West Pakistan.Out of 300 members of the Lower House, 165 were to be from East Pakistan.

3. If the Head of State was from West Pakistan the Prime Minister shall be from EastPakistan, and vice versa.

4. President was empowered to dissolve the Houses, if they failed to resolve their differences.

These suggestions were generally welcomed by almost all sections of public opinion. It was

thought that these would lead to closer integration and cooperation between the two zones, reducethe centrifugal tendencies and would prove a continuing source of strength to Pakistan.

A general discussion began immediately after the introduction of the Formula in the Consembly,

on 7-26 October, 1953. In order to speed up the work of the constitution, on 14 November, 1953, aDrafting Committee headed by Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar was appointed. It was required to

prepare the draft constitution by 1 January, 1955.

DISSOLUTION OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

After the removal of Nazimuddin, the politicians of Punjab were afraid of the constitutional

proposals based on parity between the two wings. They also feared Bengali domination by theirjoining of hands with other provinces in the western wing.

The Bengalis complained that:

i). Although they produced the major chunk of products to earn foreign exchange,

most of the money being spent by the government for the benefit of West Pakistan.

ii). The national capital in West Pakistan was controlled by West Pakistanis. Bengalis

felt they were being treated like a colony, instead of the senior partner with a greater

population.

Muslim League Routed from Bengal:

By early 1954, the mistrust of the people of East Pakistan with the ineffectual policies and

dishonesty of the politicians grew so mature that the Muslim League, the party identified with the

Pakistan Movement, had lost all credibility. In the provincial election in East Pakistan the MuslimLeague was routed (got only 10 seats out of 309) while the opposition combined with the United

Front, with leaders such as Hussain Shaheed Sohrwardi, A.K. Fazlul Haque and Maulana Bhashani

won 223 seats.

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The election result was a popular vote of no-confidence by the East Pakistani people in the existing

government and the Muslim League, and it became clear that the Muslim League which was thelargest party in the legislature, had lost people's confidence rapidly and thus the legislative

assembly had become a non-representative institution.

In West Pakistan also, the people were equally frustrated with the role of the Muslim League. With

opposition mounting in both the Wings, the Muslim League's efforts to proceed with constitution-making only added to bitterness, suspicion and distrust.

However, on 29 May, 1954, within two months of the newly-elected East Pakistan cabinet taking

office in Dhaka the Central Government dismissed it and replaced it with Governor's rule and

appointed General Iskander Mirza, then Defence Secretary, as the Governor of the province.

In 1954, meeting as a Consembly, the Federal Legislature curtailed powers of Governor General

(GG) under the adapted Government of India Act, 1935, whereby the

i). GG could not dismiss a ministry enjoying the confidence of the Legislature.

ii). GG could not nominate Premier and was required to act on the advice of PrimeMinister.

The furious GG Ghulam Mohammad dissolved the Consembly!

MAULVI TAMIZUDDIN KHAN'S CASE

On 7 November, 1954, Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan, the Speaker of the dissolved assembly, filed apetition with the Sindh Chief Court, whereby he questioned GGs power to dissolve Consembly.

The Sindh Chief Court gave a unanimous decision in favour of Maulvi Tamizuddin and held the

dissolution of the Consembly a nullity in law on the ground that the privilege of dissolution wasnot conferred on the GG by an express provision of the Constitution.

The Court issued a writ of mandamus restoring the petitioner (Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan) to hisoffice as the Speaker of the Consembly and restraining all respondents from obstructing or

interfering with the exercise by the petitioner of the functions and duties of his office.

The appointment of the Ministers by GG was declared illegal. Under Section 10 of the

Government of India Act as amended on 21 September, 1954, they were not qualified to hold

ministerial offices, not being members of the Federal Legislature.

The GG Ghulam Mohammad filed an appeal in the Federal Court headed by Chief Justice Munir

Ahmad Khan. The Federal Court admitted that there was no specific provision in the existing

constitutional legislations which empowered the GG to dissolve the Consembly and that such aprovision was omitted from their texts on the assumption that the Assembly would perform its

function within a reasonable period and dissolve itself.

But even after eight years of its existence it had not given the country a constitution and had, in

fact, tended to become a perpetual legislature of the Dominion thereby rendering itself completely

unrepresentative of and irresponsive to public opinion.

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The right of the GG to dissolve the Assembly which had been in suspension, could therefore be

revived. It was an extraordinary power to be exercised in an extraordinary situation. The court alsoadvised the government to conduct elections of the Consembly.

Ghulam Mohammad won the first battle but lost the war. Even the victory in the first battle would

not have been his, had the Federal Court not been scared by his overpowering ambition. In a

speech delivered at the Lahore High Court Bar Association on 22 April, I960, Chief Justice Munirhimself admitted that, "the mental anguish caused to the judges by these cases was beyond

description and nowhere else in the world had the judges to pass through what may be describedas judicial torture".

Though the judgments were not truly judicial, taken together they helped in arresting the trendstowards unmitigated dictatorship.

ELECTION TO NEW CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

On 28 May, 1955, the legal tangle made the GG to announce election to the second Consembly.

The provincial assemblies were to serve as the Electoral College. The Consembly was to consist of80 members equally divided between the two wings of Pakistan. The allocation of seats inassembly was to be as follows: 21

Region No. of Seats

East PakistanPunjab

Sindh

NWFP

40 (9 for non-Muslims)21 (1 for non-Muslims)

05 (1 for non-Muslims)

04

The Governor General would nominate ten members as follows:

Region No. of Seats

Bahawalpur State 02

Khairpur State 01

Balochistan 01Balochistan States Union 01

Frontier States 01

Tribal Areas 03

Karachi 01

In the first Constituent Assembly, the Muslim League was the majority party, but due to its defeat

in East Pakistan it ceased to be the ruling party. The party position in the new Assembly was asfollows:

Party No. of Seats won

Muslim League 26

United Front 16

Awami League 13

Pakistan National Congress 04United Progressive Party 02

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Scheduled Caste Federation 03

Other 16

TOTAL 80

First session of the newly elected Consembly was held on 7 July, 1955 at Murree. Only two of the

Muslim League members belonged to East Pakistan. The League unanimously elected Choudhary

Mohammad Ali, former Finance Minister, as its leader in the place of Mr. Bogra.

The new Assembly also faced same problems as were faced by the previous Consembly. Most of

its time was spent in working as a legislative body. Thus much time was wasted in replying toquestions of no importance and in discussion with no conclusions. The rules and regulations of the

Assembly were often disregarded.

MAJOR GENERAL ISKANDER MIRZA

In August 1955, Ghulam Mohammad seriously fell ill and gave up all official duties and Major

General Iskander Mirza began to function as acting GG. He invited Choudhary Mohammad Ali to

form a Government. Choudhary Mohammad Ali formed a coalition of the Muslim League and theUnited Front of East Pakistan. The Assembly passed West Pakistan Act, 1955, on 30 September,

1955, establishing One Unit. Hectic efforts began to draft a new constitution.

THE CONSTITUTION OF 1956

After nine years of efforts Pakistan was successful in framing a constitution in 1956. The

Consembly adopted it on 29 February, 1956, and it was enforced on 23 March, 1956, proclaiming

Pakistan to be an Islamic Republic. The Constitution was lengthy and detailed, containing 234

articles divided into thirteen parts and six schedules.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE CONSTITUTION OF 1956

1. Written Constitution: This was a written constitution.

2. Rigid Constitution: This was a rigid constitution. Amendment needed at least two thirdsmajority of the Parliament to become part of the constitution after authentication by President.

3. Islamic Provisions: Pakistan was named Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Only a Muslim couldbecome Head of the State. Further, no law was to be passed against the injunction of the Holy

Quran and the Sunnah and the existing laws to be made Islamic in character.

4. Federal System: The federal system with principle of parity between East Pakistan and WestPakistan. The Federal Legislature was to perform like the British Parliament and not to follow the

American pattern of Federal system of Government. The Centre was invested with such powers as

to take unilateral action in emergency and it could influence the provincial autonomy.

5. Parliamentary Form of Government: Where real executive authority was vested in a cabinet,

presided over by the Prime Minister, collectively responsible to the legislature.

6. Provincial Autonomy: Due to influence of the regional or provincial forces after election of the

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United Front in East Pakistan, certain increase of subjects appeared on the provincial list at the

expense of the Federal and Concurrent lists. The table shows the difference:

Pre-1956 Post-1956

Federal List 59 30

Concurrent List 36 19

Provincial List 54 90

7. UnicameraI Legislature: Only one house of parliament known as the National Assembly andequality between the two Wings was maintained in it.

Critical: This was the major drawback of the constitution, because it undermined a basicprinciple of democracy, namely, one man one vote. The result was the creation of a parliament of

two provinces in place of a parliament of the people, promoting the politics of regionalism.

8. Electorates: The question of joint or separate electorates was left to be decided by the twoProvincial Assemblies.

9. Election of President: The President was to be elected by an Electoral College comprising ofmembers of the National Assembly and the Provincial Assemblies.

10. Powers of President: The President had the power to summon, Prorogue and dissolve theNational Assembly on the advice of the Cabinet. Some of the key appointments, such as those of

the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Judges of the Supreme and High Court, the Governors,

the Advocate General and the Principal Military Officers, were to be made by the President on theadvice of the Cabinet.

11. Fundamental Rights: Familiardemocratic rights and freedom such as freedom of speech and

expression, of assembly and association, of movement and of profession were provided, with theusual qualifications. With regard to civil rights, familiar rights such as rights of life, liberty and

property were granted, again with the usual qualification and safeguards. The judiciary was given

power to enforce the fundamental rights and the courts were to decide if a law was repugnant toany provisions of the fundamental rights.

12. Free Judiciary: Under the Constitution of 1956, the judiciary enjoyed full supremacy over theother organs of the state. Adequate provisions were made to ensure the independence of judges so

that 'justice is given in Pakistan in a real and unpolluted form'.

13. Language: Urdu and Bengali were made national languages.

ISLAMIC PROVISIONS IN THE CONSTITUTION OF 1956

1. The Objectives Resolution repeated in the preamble without any major change.

2. The name 'Islamic Republic of Pakistan' was selected for the state of Pakistan.

3. All citizens of Pakistan were granted freedom to profess, practice and propagate any

religion and the right to establish, maintain and manage religious institutions.

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4. Steps were to be taken to enable the Muslims of Pakistan individually and collectively to

order their lives in accordance with the Holy Quran and Sunnah.

5. No law, repugnant to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, to

be enacted and that existing laws shall be brought into conformity with such injunctions.

6. Only a Muslim could be qualified for election as President.

7. Organization for Islamic research and instruction in advanced studies was provided toassist in the reconstruction of Muslim society on a truly Islamic basis.

8. Teaching of the Holy Quran was to be made compulsory for Muslims.

9. Slavery and forced labour were prohibited.

10. The purchase and sale of alcohol and narcotics was banned and prostitution prohibited.

11. No person should be compelled to pay any special tax, the proceeds of which were to bespent on the propagation of any religion other than his own.

12. The state should endeavour to strengthen the bonds of unity among Muslim countries.

DRAWBACKS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF 1956

1. A far-reaching devolution of powers already a political reality, was not given.

2. The federal list was substantially reduced and the provincial list greatly enlarged,

transferring to the provinces among other subjects, control over mineral resources,

recruitment of services, industries, internal communications and the tribal areas in theNorth-West Frontier. This was contrary to the practice of advanced countries where the

federal principle has been used in building up a common nationhood through a strong

Centre. The constitution in Pakistan instead of being an instrument for unity of a countryalready divided by geography, sought to create two distinct political entities with maximum

autonomy in the management of their affairs.

3. Regional loyalties were further consolidated by the introduction of parity of representation

in the National Assembly (One Unit denied three smaller provinces their political rights

and parity denied majority to Bengal).

ISKANDER MIRZA AS PRESIDENT

Iskander Mirza succeeded ailing Ghulam Mohammad as acting GG in August, 1955. Hisappointment was confirmed in October, the same year after Ghulam Mohammad resigned on 6

October, 1955. To get him elected as President, all the fifty members of the Muslim League-United

Front nominated him as their nominee to the office.

At that time no political party had majority in the legislature. Muslim League, Awami League,

Republican Party, etc. all formed short-lived coalition governments. The politicians continuedshifting their loyalties very rapidly. Practice of leaving one party in the assembly and joining the

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other became so common that no ministry could remain in power for a substantial period.

This political instability and state of uncertainty not only adversely affected the development

activities but the law and order situation also worsened. The main misfortune for the country was

that in these critical moments there was no such nationwide popular leadership which could prove

to be capable of controlling the situation. One solution of this state of affairs was general elections

through which political anarchy could be controlled. But President Iskander Mirza was hesitant inarranging elections because he apprehended that the new assemblies will deprive him of the office.

At this stage, the state of insecurity generated by Iskander Mirza himself was at its peak. In these

circumstances, Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan jointly made a conspiracy plan by virtue of which

President Iskander Mirza swept away the Constitution and democracy and promulgated MartialLaw on 8th October, 1958 and nominated General Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the

Pakistan Army, as Chief Martial Law Administrator.

President Iskander Mirza was forced to resign after only 19 days of imposition of Martial Law andwas exiled. Hence, on 27 October, 1958, General Ayub Khan himself took over all the powers as

President and Chief Martial Law Administrator.

PRESIDENT AYUB KHAN

After taking powers, Ayub Khan abrogated the Constitution of 1956, imposed ban on political

parties and froze their bank accounts. The Press and Publications Ordinance 1960 was employed toclip the wings of criticism on the regime.

General Ayub appointed a Commission on 17 February 1960 to report on the future political

framework, which was more in accord with his thinking, and in no way accountable to the people.In January 1962, the cabinet approved the text of the new Constitution. It was promulgated by

President Ayub Khan on 1 March, 1962 and finally came into effect on 8 June 1962. The

Constitution contained 250 articles divided into twelve parts and three schedules.


l. Written Constitution: This was a written constitution.

2. Rigid Constitution: This was a rigid constitution. An amendment was to be passed by at least

two thirds majority of the Parliament and authenticated by the President to be effective.

3. Islamic Provisions: The Constitution declared that the sovereignty over the entire Universe

belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority exerciseable by the people is a sacred trust.Only a Muslim could become Head of the State. Further, no law was to be passed against the

injections of the Holy Quran and the Sunnah and the existing laws be made Islamic in character.

4. Federal System: The Constitution provided for federal system with the principle of parity

between East Pakistan and West Pakistan. Both the provinces would run their separate provincial

governments. The responsibilities and authority of the centre and the provinces were clearly listedin the constitution.

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5. Uni-cameral Legislature: The Central Legislature had one house known as the NationalAssembly. There were 156 members of the National Assembly. The equality between the two

Wings was maintained in it.

6. Presidential Form of Government: The Constitution provided Presidential form of

Government, as opposed to the Parliamentary system under the 1956 Constitution. The Presidentwas to be elected indirectly by an Electoral College.

7. Election of President: An Electoral College formed by hot less than 80,000 Basic Democrats,

equally distributed between the two provinces.

8. Powers of President: Act as Head of State as well as Chief Executive-solely responsible for

country's administration. Governors and Ministers were appointed and removed by him. He was

eligible to promulgate Ordinances and veto against legislated laws only to be over-ridden by two-

thirds of the National Assembly. However, the President was not empowered to dissolve theAssembly, except at the cost of his office.

9. Impeachment and Removal of the President: On violating the constitution or grossmisconduct the President could be impeached by National Assembly for which one-third (33.3%)

of the total members must give written notice to the Speaker for the removal of the President. The

President was to be removed from office if the resolution for impeachment was passed by votes ofnot less than three-fourths (75%) of the total members of the Assembly.

A significant feature of the impeachment procedure was that if the resolution for removal of thePresident fails to obtain one-half of the total number of members of the National Assembly the

movers of the resolution would cease to be members of the Assembly.

10. Restrictions of the President: The President was not allowed to hold any office of profit inthe service of Pakistan but was not prevented from holding or managing private property.

11. The Speaker: There was no restriction of religion for a person holding the office of theSpeaker of the National Assembly. Secondly, if the President resigns from his office or vote of no-

confidence passes against him, then according to the Constitution the Speaker would act as the

President of the State till the election of new President. Under these special circumstances a non-Muslim might get the chance to be an acting President of Pakistan.

12. Elections and Powers of Legislatures: The members of the National and Provincial

Assemblies were elected by the 'Basic Democrats'. The National Assembly was exclusivelyempowered to legislate for the central subjects. However, it could legislate on matters falling under

provincial jurisdiction. The power to impose taxes was laid with the central legislature.

13. Proclamation of Emergency: The President was empowered to issue a proclamation of

Emergency, if he was satisfied that a grave emergency existed, in which Pakistan, or any part of it,

was threatened by war, or external aggression, or in which the security or economic life of Pakistanwas threatened, by internal disturbances beyond the power of a Provincial Government to control.

14. Role of Judiciary: The Judiciary was responsible for the interpretation of laws and executiveorders in the light of the principles embodied in the constitution.

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15. Language: Urdu and Bengali were recognized as national languages.


1. The preamble of the Constitution of 1962 was also based on the Objectives Resolution.

2. The name of the country was simply 'Republic of Pakistan'. After First Amendment (1963)

it renamed as Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

3. Steps were to be taken to enable the Muslims of Pakistan individually and collectively, to

order 'their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles of Islam.

4. No law, repugnant to the teachings and requirements of Islam (Holy Quran and Sunnan), to

be enacted and all existing laws shall be brought in conformity with Islam.

5. Only a Muslim could be qualified for the election as President.

6. Teaching of the Quran and Islamiat to the Muslims of Pakistan was made compulsory.

7. Proper organization of Zakat, Wakfs and Mosques was ensured.

8. Practical steps were to be taken to eradicate social evils such as the use of alcohol, narcotic

drugs, gambling etc.

9. An 'Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology' provided, to be appointed by the president, to

make recommendations to enable and encourage Muslims of Pakistan to order their lives in

accordance with the principles and concepts of Islam and to examine all laws with a view

to bring them into conformity with Islam.

10. There shall be an organization to be known as Islamic Research Institute, to undertake

research and instruction in Islam for the purpose of assisting in the reconstruction ofMuslim society on a truly Islamic basis.

11. The state should endeavour to strengthen the bonds of unity among Muslim countries.

DRAWBACKS OF THE CONSTITUTION OF 1962

1. Name was Republic of Pakistan'. The word 'Islamic' was later included (1963).

2. Framed by a military dictator / usurper, it lacked consensus. It starts "I, Field Marshal Ayub

Khan", and not We, the People of Pakistan, "do hereby declare and promulgate theConstitution". This meant that he had no respect for popular will or sanction.

3. It provided the President with dictatorial powers and made him completely sovereign,whereas National Assembly's powers were limited. Like Louis XVI he could say, "I am the

State". The governors and ministers were appointed and dismissed by the President himself

and he could also dissolve the National Assembly.

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4. The Constitution imposed ban on political parties. The main purpose of this article was to

keep politician at an arm's length from Ayub Khan.

AYUB'S ERA

The first election under the Constitution was held on non-party basis.

However, political parties were revived in 1962 and in the second elections which were held in the

Dec-Jan 1964-65, the Combined Opposition Parties (COP) put up Miss Fatima Jinnah, the sister ofthe founder of Nation, as their joint Presidential candidate. The main demand of COP was that

direct elections should be substituted for indirect elections. Although Ayub Khan won the

elections, it was a disputed result as the votes of many basic democrats had been manipulated bycarrot and stick.

After the 1965 war with India a strong sense of defencelessness and deprivation took deeper roots

in East Pakistan. The East Pakistan's demand for autonomy crystallized in 1966 with thepresentation of six points of the Awami League. The Six Points Programme demanded a new

Constitution of a confederal type and not the restitution of the 1956 Federal Constitution.

In this new confederal arrangement:

The Central Government would be supreme only in two areas: defence and foreign affairs.

Each State would levy its own taxes control, its foreign exchange and have its own currency. The

Central Government would derive its revenues from the States.

It was a plan for complete autonomy of the two wings.

In 1969, a mass movement combining a mixture of class and regional discontents succeeded in

destabilizing Ayub's regime. The movement was spearheaded by the People's Party in WestPakistan and Awani League in East Pakistan, and both the political parties tried to revolt against

the dictator Ayub Khan.

The basic targets of mass protest were:

i). Wrong economic policies (concentration of wealth in few hands),

ii). Presidential constitution (demand for parliamentary form),

iii). One-unit (smaller provinces were discontent), and

iv). Bureaucracy.

Under the pressure of public opinion, Ayub Khan resigned from Presidentship on 25 March, 1969

and handed over the power to Commander-in-Chief of the Army General Yahya Khan instead of

the Speaker of the National Assembly, violating his 'Self-assumed Constitution'!!

GENERAL YAHYA KHAN

Gen. Yahya Khan assumed the office of President and CMLA of Pakistan. The Constitution of

1962 was abrogated, and the country was again without a constitution! The National and

Provincial Assemblies were dissolved. On 28 November, 1969, he pledged to hold a generalelection to the National Assembly on 5 October, 1970.

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One Unit was dissolved and provinces of Punjab, NWFP, Sindh and Balochistan revived on 5 July1970. The principle of 'one man one vote' was accepted, putting an end to parity. All these

fundamental issues were settled by an unrepresentative authority, having no mandate of the people.

Another step towards paving the way for holding the elections, he issued a 'Legal Framework

Order' (LFO) on 30 March, 1970. The said order contained fundamental principles of theconstitution to be the elected Assembly. It laid down as follow:

1. Parliamentary and Federal form of government.

2. Islamic character of the constitution to preserve the ideological basis Pakistan.

3. Direct and free periodical election to the Federal and Provincial legislatures on the basis of

population and adult franchise.

4. Fundamental rights to all citizens and their enforcement by the courts of law.

5. Independence of the judiciary in the matter of dispensation of justice and enforcement ofthe Fundamental rights.

Initially the elections for the National Assembly were scheduled to be held in the month of October1970 but due to extraordinary floods and wide destruction and disruption, the elections were put

off till 7 December, 1970.

POLITICAL PARTIES AND THEIR PROGRAMMES

From the both wings of Pakistan, about twenty two political parties entered into the contest of

which two were the major political parties, Pakistan People's Party and the Awami League.

Pakistan People's Party: Pakistan People's Party was led by late Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto. PPP

advanced their manifesto, which was a reflection of socialism based on Islamic Principles ofeconomic and social equality.

The Awami League: The Awami League was led by late Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rahman. The AwamiLeague evolved a six-point formula, which was the base of their electioneering campaign.

The six points are as follows:

1. Federal form of government on the basis of the Lahore Resolution.

2. Federal government to deal with only defence and foreign affairs.

3. Separate fiscal and monetary policies.

4. Two separate external trade accounts for foreign exchange earnings of the two wings.

5. Federal government to have no tax levying authority.

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6. Provinces be given constitutional authority to maintain para-military or territorial forces.

Results of Elections

Political Parties East

Pakistan

Punjab Sindh NWFP Balochistan No. of Seats

Won

Awami League

Pakistan People's

PartyPML (Qayyum)

PML (Convention)

PML (Council)JUP

JUI

NAP (Wall group)Jamat-e-lslami

PDP

Independents

160

-

-

-

--

-

-1

1

-

-

62

1

2

74

-

-1

-

5

-

18

1

-

-3

-

-2

-

3

-

1

7

-

--

6

31

-

7

-

-

-

-

13

-

--

-

-

160

81

9

2

77

7

64

1

16

TOTAL 162 82 27 25 4 300

FRAMING THE CONSTITUTION OF 1973

There were three major forces involved in the process of framing the Constitution of 1973. These

were the President Yahya Khan at the centre, Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rahman, leader of Awami Leaguein East Pakistan, and Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, leader of Pakistan People's Party in West Pakistan.

Each party insisted on its peculiar programme and basis, on which constitution was to be framed.Shaikh Mujib-ur-Rahman was of the opinion to frame the constitution on the basis of his six

points. At the centre, President Yahya Khan was firm on his five points formula, whereas Mr.Bhutto contended that the constitution should be framed with the consensus of all the federating

units in Pakistan. This diversity of opinions and views led to a constitutional deadlock in thecountry, which ultimately resulted in the disintegration of Pakistan. East Pakistan decided to

secede from West Pakistan and established itself under the name of Bangladesh. In West Pakistan

power was transferred to Mr. Bhutto, as being the leader of the single largest party.

After gaining power, Z. A. Bhutto invited the leaders of the Parliamentary parties to meet him on

17 October, 1972, which resulted in-an agreement known as the 'Constitutional Accord', after anintensive discussion. As per consultations floated by PPP, the National Assembly of Pakistan

appointed a 25 member committee on 17 April 1972, to prepare a draft of the permanent

Constitution of Pakistan. Mohammad Ahmed Kasuri was elected chairman of the Committee. On20 October, 1972, the draft bill for the Constitution of Pakistan was signed by leaders of theparliamentary groups in the National Assembly. A bill to provide a constitution for the Islamic

Republic of Pakistan was introduced in Assembly on 2 February, 1973. The Assembly passed the

Bill unanimously on 10 April, 1973 and endorsed by Late President 2.A. Bhutto on 12 April 1973.The Constitution came into effect from 14 August, 1973.

On 14 August, 1973, Mr. Bhutto took over as the Prime Minister and Choudhary Fazal-e-Elahi asthe President, the Constitutional Head of State. The constitution consists of a preamble 280 articles

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divided into seven parts and seven schedules.


1. Written Constitution: This is a written constitution.

2. Rigid Constitution: This is a rigid constitution. An amendment requires at least two thirdsmajority of both the Houses of Parliament and authentication by the President.

3. Islamic Provisions: Pakistan named as the 'Islamic Republic of Pakistan' and Islam declared as

the State religion. Only a Muslim could become the President or Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Further, it has been specified that no law repugnant to Islam shall be enacted and the present lawsshall also be Islamized.

4. Federal System: The Constitution provided for federal system. The Federal Legislature to

function like the British Parliament and not to follow the American pattern of Federal system ofGovernment.

5. Bi-cameral System: The federal legislature consists of two houses. The upper house is calledSenate and the lower house is known as the National Assembly.

6. The President: The President must be a Muslim, elected by members of Parliament, for a termof 5 years. The President could be removed by the resolution of parliament of not less than two

thirds of the total membership.

7. Powers of President: The President could issue Ordinances when the parliament is not in

session. The President has the power of granting pardon and the right to be kept informed by the

Prime Minister on all matters of internal and foreign policy.

8. Parliamentary System: This constitution sets-forth the Parliamentary system of Government.

The head of the government according to this constitution will be the Prime Minister. The Prime

Minister and his Cabinet is accountable to the National Assembly for its actions.

9. The Prime Minister: Elected by majority of National Assembly, PM is the Chief Executive of

the Federation.

10. Federation and Provinces: Parliament has exclusive power to make laws in respect of federal

legislation. Both Parliament and Provincial Assemblies have power to make laws in respect of

subjects in the Concurrent List. Residuary Power were entrusted to provinces.

12. Council of Common Interests: A new institution consisting of the Chief Ministers of the

Provinces and an equal number of Ministers of the Federal Government nominated by the PrimeMinister. The Council could formulate and regulate the policy in Part II of the Legislative List and

to look into the complaint of interference in water supply by any province.

12. National Finance Commission: NFC consisting of Federal and Provincial Finance Ministers

and other members to advice on distribution of revenues between the Centre and the provinces.

13. Fundamental Rights: These include security of person, safeguards as to arrest and detention,

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prohibition of slavery and forced labour, protection against double punishment, freedom of

movement, freedom of association, freedom of speech, freedom to profess religion and safeguardsto religious institutions, non-discrimination in respect of access to public places and in service,

preservation of language, script and culture.

14. Principles of Policy: These include Islamic way of life, promotion of local government

institutions, full participation of women in national life, protection of minorities, promotion ofsocial and economic well being of the people and strengthening the bonds with the Muslim world

and to work for-international peace.

15. Free Judiciary: The judiciary enjoys full supremacy over the other organs of the State.

16. Language: Urdu is the national language.


1. Sovereignty of God: The sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Almighty Allah, alone

and the authority to be exercised by the people of Pakistan within the limits prescribed by Him is asacred trust.

2. Name of State: 'Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

3. Islam to be State Religion: Islam is declared as the state religion of Pakistan.

4. Islamic way of Life: Steps shall be taken to enable the Muslims individually and collectively, toorder their lives in accordance with the fundamental principles and basic concepts of Islam.

5. Teaching of the Quran and Islamiat: Steps shall be taken to make the teaching of the Holy

Quran and Islamiat compulsory, to encourage and facilitate the learning of Arabic language and tosecure correct and exact printing and publishing of the Holy Quran.

6. Organization of Zakat and Wakfs: Proper organization of Zakat, Wakfs and Mosques areensured.

7. Promotion of Social Justice and Eradication of Social evils: The state shall preventprostitution, gambling and consumption of alcohol, printing, publication, circulation and display of

obscene literature and advertisements.

8. The President & Prime Minister: Only a Muslim could become President / Prime Minister.

9. Provision relating to the Holy Quran and Sunnah: All existing laws shall be brought in

conformity with the injunctions ot Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah and no lawshall be enacted which is repugnant to such injunctions.

11. Council of Islamic Ideology: A Council of Islamic Ideology constituted to makerecommendations about the ways and means of enabling and encouraging Muslims of Pakistan to

order their lives in accordance with the principles of Islam.

12. Reference by Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), etc. to Islamic Council: The President or the

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Governor of a Province may, or if two-fifths (40%) of its total membership so requires shall, refer

to the Islamic Council for advice on any question as to whether a proposed law is or is notrepugnant to the injunctions of Islam.

13. Definition of Muslim: For the first time the Constitution gave definition of a Muslim:

'Muslim' means a person who believes in the unity and oneness of Almighty Allah, in the absolute

and unqualified finality of the Prophet-hood of Mohammad (PBUH), the last of the prophets, anddoes not believe in, or recognize as a prophet or religious reformer any person who claimed or claims

to be a prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Mohammad(PBUH).

14.Ahmadis - A non-Muslim Minority: The Second Amendment (w.e.f 17 September, 1974) of1973 Constitution declared the Quadiani Group or the Lahori Group (who call themselves

'Ahmadis' or by any other name) as non-Muslim minority.

15. Strengthening bonds with Muslim World: The State shall endeavour to strengthen the bondsof unity among Muslim countries.

AMENDMENTS IN THE CONSTITUTION OF 1973

The Constitution of 1973 has undergone large number of amendments with the result it has lost itsoriginal shape. From the 1973 to 2003, seventeen amendments have been made, which are as under:

First Amendment: brought changes in constitution necessitated by recognition of Bangladesh.

Second Amendment: declared Ahmadis as non-Muslims.

Third Amendment: The Third Amendment extended the period of preventive detention from onemonth to three months at a time and also extended the period of communication of grounds of

detention from 7 days to 15 days.

Fourth Amendment: The Fourth Amendment reduced the powers of the High Court in writ

jurisdiction in a way that neither preventive detention could be prohibited nor bail could be granted

to the detainee under preventive detention in exercise of writ jurisdiction.

Fifth Amendment: The Fifth Amendment was related to judiciary. It allowed the inter-provincial

transfer of judges of High Courts. The term of offices of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court

and High Courts was fixed at five years and four years respectively, after which period they hadeither to retire or stay as judges in their respective courts till they reach the age of retirement under

the constitution.

Sixth Amendment: The Sixth Amendment allowed the Chief Justices of Supreme Court and High

Courts to complete their term of office even after they had reached the age of retirement.

Seventh Amendment: The Seventh Amendment empowered the Prime Minister to submit any

matter for referendum before the nation.

EIGHTH AMENDMENT:

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The main features of Eighth Amendment are listed below:

1. Electoral College for Presidential election modified to include all the four provincial assemblies

with equal weightage to each provincial assembly, besides both houses of Parliament.

2. The President is to act on the advice of Prime Minister or cabinet. But the President cansend back such advice to the Prime Minister or Cabinet for re-consideration.

3. The period for giving assent by the President was reduced from 45 to 30 days. The

President can veto a bill except money-bill by returning the bill for re-consideration.

4. Article 58(2)(b) inserted to empower the President to dissolve the National Assembly at his

discretion if, in his opinion, the government cannot be carried on in accordance with the

constitution and appeal to the electorate became necessary. However, on dissolution of

National Assembly, elections were to be held within 90 days. Originally, President couldonly dissolve NA on the advice of the PM.

5. The President is empowered to appoint in his own discretion a caretaker cabinet afterdissolving NA. Even when the NA is dissolved on the advice of PM, the continuation of

PM in office is no longer secured.

6. The President has the power to appoint in his discretion Chief of Armed Forces and the

Chief Election Commissioner.

7. The President retains the powers to appoint in his discretion, Governors of the provinces,

but after consulting the PM.

8. Article 152-A regarding composition of National Security Council was omitted.

9. Article 270-A regarding validation of laws, acts and orders of Martial Law Regime was

retained with slight modification.

10. Membership of the Senate was raised from 63 to 87, with five seats from each province

provided for technocrats, ulema or professionals.

11. Seats reserved for women in National Assembly were increased from 10 to 20.

12. Articles 2A and 203A to 203J were incorporated in the Eighth Amendment. Theseamendments created Federal Shariat Courtand conferred powers to:

a) Decide whether any existing law or a law nearly enacted by the legislative assembly isin accordance with the injunctions of Islam.

b) Pass verdict on laws and steps taken by the government in any domain of life includingeconomics.

NINTH AMENDMENT:

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The Ninth Amendment (Shariat bill) had intentions to make the injunction of Islam as laid down in

the Holy Quran and Sunnah to be the supreme law and source of guidance for legislation. The billwas passed by the Senate but with the dismissal of Junejo Government in 1985 the bill was not

introduced in the NA and amendment became ineffective.

TENTH AMENDMENT:

The Tenth Amendment declared that the interval between the two sessions of the NA and Senate

should not exceed 130 days.

ELEVENTH AMENDMENT:

The Eleventh Amendment is presently under consideration. Its motive is to revive the seats

reserved for women in National and Provincial Assemblies.

TWELFTH AMENDMENT:

The Twelfth Amendment provided for the establishment of Speedy Trial Courts for three years(from 14 August 1991 to 14 August 1994) to eradicate acute law and order situation.

THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT:

The Thirteenth Amendment comprised of four amendments in different articles of the Constitution.Mainly, it deleted article 58(2)(b) which had given the President the power to dissolve the NA at

his discretion. Similarly article 112(2)(b) has also been dropped. It had vested the Governors with

powers to dissolve the PAs.

Clause 1 of Article 101 has also been amended to bind the President to appoint Governors on the

advice of the PM. Thus far, the President was to consult the PM but now he would have to appoint

them on the advice of the PM.

Through the amendment, the President's power to appoint the Services Chiefs under article 112 (2)

(b) had also been curtailed and instead of appointing them with the consultation of the PM, hewould appoint them on the advice of the PM.

FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT:

The Fourteenth Amendment inserted a new Article 63-A in the constitution to close the door for

horse-trading and political black-mailing. It paved the way to unseat any member of the NA who

violates party discipline, code of conduct or votes against his or her party in the parliament.

FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT

SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT

SEVENTEENTH AMENDMENT

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CONSTITUTIONS OF 1956, 1962 AND 1973

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No Constitutions of 1956 Constitutions of 1962 Constitutions of 1973

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ARTICLES

1 It contained 234 articles

divided into thirteen

parts and six schedules.

It contained 250 articles

divided into twelve parts

and three schedules.

It contains 280 articles

divided into seven parts and

seven schedules.

WRITTEN

2. It was a writtenconstitution.

It was a writtenconstitution.

It is a written constitution.

RIGIDITY

3. It was a rigid

constitution.

It was a rigid constitution. It is a rigid constitution.

ISLAMIC NATURE

4. It was an Islamicconstitution. Preamble

was based on the

Objectives Resolution.

It was an Islamicconstitution but the spirit

of Islam was not there in

the constitution.

It is an Islamic constitution.The preamble of the

constitution is based on the

Objectives Resolution.


SAFEGUARDS AGAINST ABROGATION

5. The constitutionprovided no safeguard

against its abrogation.

The constitution providedno safeguard against its

abrogation.

Safeguard against itsabrogation provided and the

person who abrogates the

constitution would suffer thepunishment prescribed for

High Treason.

FORM / NATURE OF GOVERNMENT

6. The constitution

provided for theparliamentary form of

government, where

actual power was vestedin the hands of Prime

Minister. The President

also had some importantpowers.

The constitution provided

for the presidential form ofgovernment. The president

had extra-ordinary

authority and was solelyresponsible for country's

administration.

The constitution provides for

the parliamentary form ofgovernment, where actual

power is vested in the hands

of Prime Minister. But theEighth amendment

strengthened the powers of

President visa-vis those ofthe Prime Minister.

DISSOLUTION OF NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

7. The President could

dissolve the NationalAssembly on the advice

of the cabinet.

The President could

dissolve the NA at anytime but in that case the

President would also have

to quit office. Freshelections of both the

President and the NA.

The President can dissolve

the National Assembly onthe advice of the Prime

Minister.

SYSTEM OF ELECTIONS

8. The system of direct andjoint electorate was

The system of indirectelections through the Basic

The system of direct andseparate electorate is

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adopted for the electionof members of National

Assembly. A person was

entitled to vote if he were

a citizen of Pakistan,not less than twenty-

one years old.

Democracies was adoptedfor the election of

President and the

members of National

Assembly. A person wasentitled to vote to Basic

Democrats if he werea citizen of Pakistan,not less than twenty-

one years old. The Basic

Democrats thus electedform the Electoral College

of Pakistan and this

Electoral College electsthe President and the

members of National

Assembly by a majority

vote.

adopted for the election ofmembers of National

Assembly. A person is

entitled to vote if he is a

citizen of Pakistan, notless than twenty-one years

old. The members of Senatewould be elected bythe members of provincial

assemblies.


UNICAMERAL / BICAMERAL LEGISLATURE

9. The constitutiondeclared that there would

be only one house of

Parliament known as the

National Assembly andparity between the

two wings was

maintained in it.

The constitutiondeclared that there would

be only one house of

Parliament known as the

National Assembly andparity between the two

wings was maintained in

it.

The constitution declaresthat there would be two

houses of Parliament. The

upper house is called Senate

and the lower house isknown as the National

Assembly. Every province

has equal representation in

Senate.FEDERALISM / PROVINCIAL AUTONOMY

10 The constitution

provided for federalsystem. The centre was

invested with such

powers as to take

unilateral action inemergency and it could

influence the provincial

autonomy. For

the distribution ofpowers between centre

and provinces, therewere three lists-federal,

provincial and

concurrent.

The constitution provided

for federal system. Therewas a clear division of

powers between the

central and provincial

governments. There wasa single list of central

subjects such as defence,

external affairs, currency

etc. and the residuarypowers were vested with

provinces.

The constitution provides

for federal system.Provincial autonomy

is recognized in the

constitution to a good

extent. For thedistribution of powers

between centre and

provinces, there are two lists

federal legislative list andconcurrent legislative list.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS

11 Familiar democraticrights and freedoms

The constitution originallycontained no Bill of Rights

Familiar fundamentalrights are provided in

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were all provided inthe constitution, with

the usual qualification.

All civil rights were also

granted in theconstitution. Judiciary

was given power toenforce the fundamentalrights and the courts

were to decide if a law

was repugnant to anyprovisions of the

fundamental rights.

and protection to citizens.But in the first

amendment passed in

December 1963, such

a bill was incorporatedand the courts were made

custodian of the same. Thearticle of fundamentalrights was not applicable

in Tribal Areas and not to

the activities covered insome thirty-one laws.

Among these were the

freedom of speech andpress, which were only as

free as the President

wished.

the constitution. Thejudiciary is given power to

enforce the fundamental

rights and the courts were to

decide if a law is repugnantto any provisions of the

fundamental rights. But thearticle about preventivedetention is still there

in the constitution which

is against the basic humanrights.


SUPERMACY OF JUDICIARY

12. Under the constitution

judiciary enjoyed full

supremacy over the otherorgans of the state.

The judiciary was

responsible for the

interpretation of lawsand executive orders in

the light of the principles

embodied in the

constitution but was notgiven the power to

abrogate any law made bythe National Assembly.

Under the constitution

judiciary enjoys full

supremacy over the otherorgans of the state.

NATIONAL LANGUAGE

13. Urdu and Bengali were

recognized as national

languages.

Urdu and Bengali were

recognized as national

languages.

Urdu is recognized as

national language.

REFERENDUM

14. There was no provisiongiven about the

referendum in the

constitution.

In case of a difference ofopinion between the

President and the National

Assembly, the President

might refer the matter for areferendum to be

conducted among themembers of the Electoral

College (Basic

Democrats).

The President, in hisdiscretion or on the advice of

the Prime Minister, can hold

a national referendum on

any important national issue.

FEDERAL CAPITAL

15. Karachi was declared asthe federal capital of the

The constitution declaredtwo capitals of the country.

Islamabad is declared as thefederal capital of the

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country. Islamabad was recognizedas the federal capital and

Dhaka was recognized as

the principal seat of the

National Assembly andsecond capital of the

country.

country.

Documents

Consititutional Development 25 Pages