From World Encyclopedia of Parliaments and Legislatures, ed. George Thomas Kurian. 2 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1998), 518-520.
PAKISTAN
OFFICIAL NAME: Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Islami Jamhuria-e-Pakistan)
CAPITAL: Islamabad
POPULATION: 129,276,000 (1996 est.)
DATE OF INDEPENDENCE: August 15, 1947 (from the United Kingdom)
DATE OF CURRENT CONSTITUTION: Adopted April 10, 1973; effective August 14, 1973
FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Parliamentary democracy
LANGUAGES: Urdu (official), English (official), Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, and other languages
MONETARY UNIT: Pakistani rupee
FISCAL YEAR: July 1-June 30
LEGISLATURE: Federal Legislature (Mijlis-e-Shoora)
NUMBER OF CHAMBERS: Two. National Assembly; Senate
NUMBER OF MEMBERS: National Assembly, 217 (including 10 seats reserved for minorities; directly elected); Senate, 87 (indirectly elected)
PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN: National Assembly, 2.0; Senate, 3.4
TERM OF LEGISLATURE: National Assembly, five years; Senate, six years (one-third of the membership indirectly elected every second year)
MOST RECENT LEGISLATIVE ELECTION: National Assembly, February 3, 1997
MINIMUM AGE FOR VOTING: 21
MINIMUM AGE FOR MEMBERSHIP: National Assembly, 25; Senate, 30
SUFFRAGE: Universal
VOTING: Optional
ADDRESS: Parliament House, Constitution Avenue, Islamabad 44000
TELEPHONE: National Assembly, (9251) 920 37 34; Senate, (92 51) 920 70 44
FAX: National Assembly, (9251) 920 58 95; Senate, (92 51) 920 52 05
Located in southern Asia and bordering the Arabian Sea, Pakistan is a former British colony. Since achieving independence in 1947, Pakistan has had a checkered constitutional history reflected not only in the country's political instability but in the relative immaturity of its legislative institutions. Frequent military interventions on the one hand and endemic violence and corruption in public life on the other have stunted the growth of a true parliamentary system.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Pakistan's first constitution, that of 1956, was passed nine years after independence, and its bumpy passage was marked by a series of crises: the assassination of the first prime minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, the dismissal of the second prime minister, Khwajah Nizamuddin, and the dissolution of the first Constituent Assembly itself. The constitution makers were faced with many intractable problems, some of which persist to this day. East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, was more populous than the five provinces of West Pakistan combined, yet the historically dominant western provinces were unwilling to concede proportional representation in the federal legislature to Bengali-speaking easterners. There was also a struggle over the role of Islam in the constitutional arrangement and the degree of veto powers to be granted to the Muslim clergy.
The constitution was less than two years old when it was abrogated, and martial law was declared following a military takeover in 1958 under Mohammad Ayub Khan. President Ayub Khan appointed a new Constitutional Commission, which produced the country's second constitution, in 1962. The 1962 constitution was not a popular document. Produced in great secrecy by the military rulers, it was never placed before the public in a referendum. It introduced for the first time a presidential form of government and vested dictatorial powers in the president. The National Assembly continued to exist as a token institution, but it could be dissolved at any time by the president. Mounting unrest against the Ayub Khan regime led to the resignation of the president in 1968 and the abrogation of the constitution he had inspired.
Pakistan was again without a constitution. Before the new president, Gen. Yahya Khan, could make any headway in devising a new constitution, East Pakistan seceded and established itself as the Republic of Bangladesh, precipitating war between Pakistan and India in late 1971. Following Pakistan's military defeat and the secession of East Pakistan, Yahya Khan ceded power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, chair of the Pakistan People's Party, who became president with the mandate to revive the political system. Under him the country's third constitution, that of 1973, was passed restoring a parliamentary form of government with a weak president and a strong prime minister. This constitution has been amended many times but still remains more or less intact. It was suspended from 1977 to 1985, when Pakistan reverted to military rule. Nevertheless, despite all the aberrations of the past, the country has made, since 1985, serious progress toward a parliamentary democracy.
Author: George Thomas Kurian