Constitution Making

The 1973 Constitution | Pakistan Affairs Notes for CSS-PMS

1. Background

Abrogation of the 1962 Constitution on March 25, 1969 led to second martial law in the country. Yahya Khan handed over power to Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on December 20, 1971 after the first general elections. But martial law continued and there was no constitution.

National Assembly approved an Interim Constitution, which was enforced on April 21, 1972.

2: Constitution Making

Constitutional Committee comprising National Assembly (NA) members from all parties was set up in April 1972. Law Minister was the Chairman of this Committee.

All parties agreed on the future political system in October 1972. The Committee reported on December 31, 1972. After long deliberations and compromises final draft was approved unanimously on April 10, 1973. The new Constitution was enforced on August 14, 1973.

The Constitution functioned since then with two gaps. It remained operational during following periods:

Constitution Making (1947-56) | Pakistan Affairs Notes for CSS-PMS

Constitution is a basic document in the handling of domestic affairs. It sets out the framework for governance and exercise of power. It gives guiding lines of relationships among the federating units. Law making is always within its limits.

The modified Government of India Act (1935) became the Interim Constitution of Pakistan in 1947. The Constituent Assembly (CA) was given the task of framing the Constitution. The first meeting of the CA was held on August 11, 1947 at Karachi. In the lecture 17 we have discussed the constitutional issues that the CA had to deal with, mainly 6 major issues. Now we will discuss the stages of constitution making.

The process began with the passing of the Objectives Resolution (Lecture 16) in which the Islamic and democratic values were adopted as grounds for the future constitution. The Basic Principles Committee (BPC) consisting of 24 members was made to work for the constitutional powers. The various sub-committees on Federal and provincial powers, Franchise, Judiciary, and Fundamental Rights started working. Board of Talimat-i-Islamia was also set up to seek advice on the religious matters.