ASSIGNMENT

Political and Constitutional Phase 1971-1977

DISCIPLINE
BS Computer Science & BS Software Engineering

COURSE NAME:
Pakistan Studies
SUBMITTED TO:
Madam AQSA
SUBMITTED BY:
Anees, Jamshaid, Nazakat,
Baqir, Sana, Hadia
Dated:
20/04/2017
 1973 Constitution of Pakistan
Salient Features:
1- Written Constitution
Like the previous constitutions of 1956 and 1962 the Constitution of 1973 is a written
document. It is very comprehensive and consists of twelve parts consisting of 280 articles.
2- Introductory and the Objectives Resolution
It commences with an introductory which slates the Islam shall be state religion. The
principles and provisions set out in the Objectives Resolution have been made substantive
part of the constitution.
3- Islamic System
The inclusion of Islamic Provisions has given the 1973 Constitution an unprecedented
Islamic character. It ensures an Islamic system in the country.
4- Rigid Constitution
It is a rigid constitution. No Government can change it at will. It is not easy to make
amendments in it. Two-third majority of both the Houses is required for this purpose.
5- Federal System
The Constitution of 1973 has introduced a Federal system in the country. The federation
of Pakistan consists of a Central Government and four Provincial Governments. The Federal
Government is headed by a President elected by members of Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament).
6- Parliamentary form of Government
The 1973 Constitution proposes a Parliamentary form of Government in the country.
Prime minister is the head of the Parliamentary system. He is leader of the Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliamentary). He is elected on direct adult franchise basis. The Prime Minister selects a
cabinet of central ministers from the members of Parliament which conducts the affairs of
the country. According to 1973 Constitution the Prime Minister enjoys wide powers.
7- Bicameral Legislature
The Constitution provides for the establishment of a bicameral legislature in Pakistan.
The Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) consists of two Houses named Senate and National
Assembly. The Senate or the Upper House consists of 63 members (the 8th Amendment has
raised this number to 87). The National Assembly consists of 200 members (Now this
number has been raised to 207). The Majlis-e-Shoora enjoys wide powers of legislature.
8- Direct Method of Election
The Constitution of 1973 gives a direct method of election. The members of the
National Assembly, the Provincial Assemblies are directly elected by the people.
9- Fundamental Rights
The 1973 Constitution ensures the following fundamental rights to the citizens of
Pakistan.
(i) Security of person
(ii) Safeguard against unlawful arrest and detention
(iii) Prohibition of slavery and forced labor
(iv) Freedom of movement
(v) Freedom of assembly
(vi) Freedom of association
(vii) Freedom of business
(viii) Freedom of speech
(ix) Freedom of profess religion
(x) Right to hold property
(xi) Equality before law
(xii) Right to preserve language, script and culture
safeguard against discrimination in services.

10- Principles of Policy

The Constitution of 1973 has set the following principles of policy:
Local electoral bodies will be set up for solving local problems.
The parochial and other prejudices shall be discouraged.
The women shall be given full representation in all spheres of national life.
Social justice shall be promoted.
Bonds with Muslim world shall be strengthened.
11- Independence of Judiciary
The Constitution of 1973 stresses upon the establishment of an independent judiciary.
Full job security has been provided. The judges are appointed by the President. They cannot
be removed from service before the end of their term except on the recommendation of
the Supreme Judicial Council. In addition the Judges are paid respectable salaries.
12- National Language
 The 1973 Constitution has declared Urdu as the national language of Pakistan. However
English has been retained as the official language for 15 years. Similarly regional languages
have been provided full protection.

13- Single Citizenship

The Constitution of 1973 has established the principles of single citizenship. According
to this principle the rights and duties of the citizens are determined by the Federal
Constitution only. Thus the people throughout Pakistan are citizens of Pakistan.
14- Rule of Law
The 1973 Constitution establishes rule of law in Pakistan. According to rule of law no
person can be deprived of his fundamental rights. All the citizens of Pakistan are equal
before law.
15- High Treason
According to the Constitution of 1973 the act of unconstitutional abrogation of the
Constitution has been declared as an act of High Treason.
16- Referendum
The Constitution of 1973 has authorized the President to hold Referendum on any
national issue. Similarly the Prime Minister can ask the President to hold referendum on any
important national issue.
 Political& Constitutional Phase Of Pakistan
(1971-1977)
On December 9 and 17 of 1970, Pakistan held its very first elections on the
basis of adult franchise.
Political parties had been campaigning for the event ever since January 1970,
and Z A Bhuttos left-wing/populist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), and Mujibur
Rehmans Bengali nationalist party, the Awami League (AL), were drawing the
largest crowds in West and former East Pakistan respectively.
December 1971: Facing a revolt from a group of military officers, Yahya hands
over power to Bhutto whose party had won a majority in West Pakistan in the
1970 election.
On 20 October 1972, the draft was revived by all leaders of the political parties and signed
the declaration of adopting the Constitution in the National Assembly on 2 February 1973.
Ratified unanimously on 19 April 1973, the Constitution came into full effect on 14 August
1973. On the same day, the successful vote of confidence movement in
the Parliament endorsed Zulfikar Bhutto as the elected Prime Minister after latter
relinquishing the presidency after appointing Fazal-i-Ilahi to that stint.

After taking control of the government in 1971. Z.A. Bhutto started work on
a democratic constitution for the country. On 17th April 1972 the National
Assembly constituted a committee to prepare a draft constitution. The
Committee worked hard and prepared the draft of the constitution which was
presented to the leaders of all parliamentary leaders on 20th October 1972.
All the leaders signed the draft. After that it was discussed and debated n the
National Assembly which gave its approval on 10th April 1973. The President
gave his assent on 12th April 1973. Finally the Senate approved the
constitution in August 1973. Consequently the constitution was enforced in
the country on 14th August 1973. According to the Constitution of 1973 Mr.
Z.A. Bhutto look over as the tenth Prime Minister and Mr. Fazl-e-Elahi was
sworn in as the President of Pakistan.

The Constitution of 1973

The 1973 constitution of Pakistan was adopted on April 12, 1973. This constitution fully represents
the ideology and democratic aspiration of the people of Pakistan and constitution is the supreme
law of the land and it is considered as an instrument by which a Government can be run.
Sources of Constitution of Pakistan 1973
The sources of constitution of Pakistan 1973 are as follows;
Act of 1935
Objective resolution
Constitution of 1956
Interim constitution of 1972
Salient Features of Constitution of Pakistan 1973
Written Constitution
Rigid Constitution
State Religion
National Language and Official Language
Parliamentary form of Government
Direct Elections
Single citizenship
Holding of Referendum
Rights of Minorities
Independence of Judiciary

By 1973, there were at least five NSF factions operating on Pakistans university
and college campuses. Their influence was further diluted by the emergence of
the PPPs own student-wing, the Peoples Students Federation (PSF), and by the
advent of various leftist-ethnic student groups such as the Baloch Students
Organisation (BSO), and the Pashtun Students Federation (PkSF).
The rise of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and the Pakistan Peoples Party to power between 1969
and 1971 promised to bring fundamental changes to the country, but they did not
produce what Pakistan had hoped for. The Peoples Party never managed to
institutionalize the charismatic appeal of its leader, and his regime fell back into the
mold of the countrys time-honored patrimonial politics. The Jamaats was unable
to take advantage of the opportunities presented by Bhuttos assault against the
traditional power structure (19711973) and later the decline of his power (1973
1977).

Bhutto faced desertions from what was once his natural constituency (the
students), when between 1973 and 1974, he launched a purge in the PPP,
expelling a number of the partys leading leftist ideologues.
No sooner had Bhutto assumed power than the antiPeoples Party constituency
became apparent. Between 1971 and 1977 it grew and became more powerful. As
part of this opposition the Jamaat channeled its efforts into a successful campaign
of political agitation that eventually brought down the government.
 The Bhutto government initially tried to control the activities of the Islamic
parties by following the example of its predecessors, but given the gradual rise in the
popularity of Islam, the weakening of the state following the civil war, and the
mistakes made by the ruling party, it failed and the Islamic parties continued to press
the state for greater representation. This led to a further decline in the governments
authority as the Islamic parties grew stronger.
Mawdudi had claimed that the problem before the country was the product of
lackluster adherence to Islam. He in fact blamed the loss of East Pakistan on Yahya
Khans womanizing and drinking. In 19721973, the military high command
uncovered a conspiracy, later dubbed the Attock conspiracy, hatched by a group
junior officers, led by Brigadier F. B. Ali, most of them veterans of the civil war of
1971.

This trend was reinforced in the subsequent years thanks in part to Bhuttos
choosing General Muhammad Zia ul-Haq as the armys chief of staff. Zia had long
been sympathetic to the Jamaat. He had been greatly impressed with Mawdudis
works, and following his investiture as chief of staff, used the powers vested in his
office to distribute the partys literature among his soldiers and officers. When in July
1976 Zia gave copies of Mawdudis Tafhimul-Quran (Understanding the Quran) as
prizes to soldiers who had won a debate arranged by the Army Education School,
and subsequently proposed to include the book in the examination for promotion of
Captains and Majors, Bhutto was greatly dismayed. Finally, on November 24, 1976,
Bhutto summoned the general before the cabinet to explain his actions. Later during
his trial before the supreme court, Bhutto was to remark,
I appointed a Chief of Staff belonging to the Jamaat-i-Islami and the
result is before all of us.

The revival of the Islamic dimension in Pakistani politics extended beyond the
army, however. The Peoples Partys credo from its inception had been Islamic
Socialism; Bhutto had said,
Islam is our faith, democracy is our polity, socialism is our economy,

Bhuttos policies and style, the re-Islamization of national politics would not favor
him or his party. The un-Islamic ways of the Peoples Partys leaders never ceased to
be a political issue. When, in 1976, the Jamaat demanded the enforcement of the
shariah in public affairs it unexpectedly attracted some fifteen thousand new
affiliates to its ranks.
The Peoples Party did implement new policies in the economy, but it failed to
manage the changes it had initiated. As a result, the very policies which were
designed to respond to the demands of the masses and thereby consolidate the
Peoples Partys support became its undoing.
For the Muhajirs and Punjabis, Bhutto was increasingly sounding like Shaikh
Mujibul-Rahman in the 1960s.
 The Baluchistan debacle was yet another proof that the Peoples Party must be
defeated. The crisis compelled Bhutto to appeal to Islamic symbols to bolster the
state to avoid yet another secessionist movement.

On September 25, 1972, Bhutto invited Mawdudi to a meeting at the governors

mansion in Lahore to discuss recognizing Bangladesh, but no apparent understanding
on the issue emerged from the meeting Mawdudi was adamant in his opposition to
the left and, sensing Bhuttos ambivalence, encouraged him to distance himself from
them:
If they [the left] challenge you, we will support you.
Mawdudis promise played an important part in Bhuttos decision in the
constitution that,

The president and prime minister must both be Muslim, and laws passed
under the constitution would be compatible with Islamic law.

The Pakistan National Alliance & The Nizam-i Mustafa Movement

After the constitution of 1973 had been promulgated, a parliamentary opposition

coalition, the United Democratic Front, emerged in the National Assembly. The
Jamaat was a member and used it as a forum for propagating its views on the
governments handling of politics, economics, and religious issues. Between 1974 and
1975 the Jamaat registered 283 complaints against the government and the Peoples
Party for harassment and the closing of its paper Jasarat.[44] The Front proved to be
an effective tool for dissent because its appeal to the constitution and use of
parliamentary procedures emphasized how the government was abusing its power.
For instance, in February 1975, following the banning of the National Awami Party
and the arrest of Wali Khan, the Fronts members walked out of the National
Assembly, damaging the democratic image of the government. Consequently, on
October 21, 1975, opposition leaders decided to strengthen the United Democratic
Front as an antiPeoples Party coalition. In a move indicative of the increasingly
central role which Islam was playing, Mufti Mahmud of the Jamiat-i Ulama-i Islam
was made its leader.

While the composition of the Front already pointed to the Islamization of dissent,
a number of government policy initiatives in 1976 accelerated this trend. In the
summer of that year the government appointed the attorney general, Yahya
Bakhtiyar, to head a committee charged with drawing up a legislative proposal for a
womens rights bill. The committees report was presented to the government in July.
The Islamic parties immediately moved to oppose it, and Bhuttos initiative was
nipped in the bud. He was losing his grip over national politics and saw that his only
course was to call for fresh elections. He appointed his minister of religious affairs,
 Kawthar Niyazi, to oversee the Peoples Partys press and public relations during
the election campaign.
Negotiations went on for a month. During this period, Bhuttos resolve
gradually waned, and he became increasingly amenable to new elections.

All sides, however, concur that the delay in reaching a final agreement during
the last hours before the coup owed much to General Zias counsel to Bhutto. The
general had warned him against entering into an agreement with the PNA based on
preliminary understandings reached in the negotiations because the army would not
accept its requirement of leaving Baluchistan in two months and releasing from
custody National Awami Party leaders who had fought the army in that province.
Bhuttos indecision augured ill for the stability of the country. On July 5, 1977, the
Pakistan army led by Zia staged a military coup, removed the government, arrested
political leaders from both sides to the conflict, and imposed martial law.