Addressing the armed forces on Aug 14, 1947, Quaid-i-Azam said, ”Do not forget that the armed forces are the servants of the people and you do not make national policy; it is we, the civilians, who decide these issues and it is your duty to carry out these tasks with which you are Entrusted.”

The State of Pakistan was created under the Independence Act of 1947. The Act made the existing Constituent Assemblies, the dominion legislatures. These Assemblies were allowed to exercise all the powers which were formerly exercised by the Central Legislature, in addition to the powers regarding the framing of a new Constitution, prior to which all territories were to be governed in accordance with the Government of India Act, 1935.

The first session of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was held on 10 August, 1947 at Sindh Assembly Building Karachi. On 11 August, 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected unanimously as the President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the National Flag was formally approved by the Assembly.

On 12 August, 1947, a resolution was approved regarding officially addressing Muhammad Ali Jinnah as "Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah." On the same day, a special committee called the "Committee on Fundamental Rights of Citizens and Minorities of Pakistan" was appointed to look into and advise the Assembly on matters relating to fundamental rights of the citizens, particularly the minorities, with the aim to legislate on these issues appropriately. On 14 August, 1947, Transfer of Power took place. On 15 August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam was sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan. Jinnah remained in this position till his death, 11 September, 1948.

Quaid’s vision of Pakistan
After the death of Quaid-iAzam, Pakistan gradually drifted away from the democratic path, rule of law, tolerance and a liberal society and instead of seeing itself as a beacon light for other states to follow, as was the vision of Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, it found itself embedded in religious fanaticism, corruption, crushing of moral values, human rights, women’s rights, fundamental rights under the worst form of military dictators’ rule for almost 33 years in a span of Pakistan’s chequered history of 62 years. During the military dictatorial rule, state institutions were crushed, liberals were gagged, and the aspiration to live a decent life of millions of toiling people has remained a dream. The military autocracy is considered as the black chapter of Pakistan’s politics.
Clarifying the role of armed forces in his address to the armed forces on Aug 14, 1947, Quaid-i-Azam said, ”Do not forget that the armed forces are the servants of the people and you do not make national policy; it is we, the civilians, who decide these issues and it is your duty to carry out these tasks with which you are entrusted.”

Setting aside religion from the business of State, Jinnah made his views clear while addressing the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, on August 11, 1947, where he said, “"You may belong to any religion or caste or creed - that has nothing to do with the business of the State. Now I think we should keep that in front of us as our ideal and you will find that in course of time Hindus would cease to be Hindus and Muslims would cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as citizens of the State.”

Accession of Princely States
On July 25, 1947, Lord Louis Mountbatten (the last Viceroy of India) in his address to the Chamber of Princes advised them that in deciding the question of accession, they should take into consideration communal composition and the geographical location of their states. Nearly all the states accepted the reality of the situation and opted either for Pakistan or India accordingly. But there were four states, Junagadh, Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Kashmir, which defied the principle of partition.

I. Junagadh: The ruler of Junagadh was a Muslim but 80 percent of his subjects were Hindus. On September 15, 1947, the Nawab acceded to Pakistan, despite the fact that his state did not fall within the geographical grouping of Pakistan. India protested, stormed in her troops, and forcibly reversed the Nawab's decision and Junagadh became a part of India.

II. Hyderabad: Hyderabad, the second of the defiant states was the largest and richest in India. Its population was 85 percent Hindu but the ruler (Nizam) was a Muslim. He was reluctant to accede either to India or Pakistan but was dismissed by Mountbatten for adopting this course. The Nizam was forced by the Indian government and Lord Mountbatten to join India. A standstill agreement was concluded between India and Hyderabad. The Hindu subjects were incited to revolt against the Nizam's desire to be independent. The whole province suffered turmoil and violence. Hyderabad filed a compliant with the Security Council of the United Nations. Before the hearing could be started, Indian troops entered Hyderabad to "restore order", and under the pretext of "police action" Hyderabad was forced to join India. The Hyderabad army surrendered on September 17, 1948, and finally Hyderabad was annexed into the Indian Union.

III. Jodhpur: Yet another prince, the Maharaja of Jodhpur, expressed a wish to join Pakistan but Mountbatten warned him that his subjects were mostly Hindus and his accession to Pakistan would create problems. As a result Jodhpur, too, acceded to India.

IV. Kashmir: Kashmir, the last of the defiant states, was the reverse of Hyderabad. It had a Hindu ruler, Maharaja Hari Singh, but his subjects were mostly Muslims, accounting to 78 percent of the total population. The Maharaja was reluctant to join either India or Pakistan. But Lord Mountbatten urged him to take a decision to join either of the states before August 15, 1947. The Maharaja asked for more time to consider his decision. In the meantime he asked the Indian and the Pakistani government to sign a "standstill agreement" with him. Pakistan consented but India refused.

The local population of Poonch began to press the Maharaja to accede to Pakistan. In August 1947, they held a massive demonstration to protest against the Maharaja's indecisiveness. The Maharaja panicked. He asked his Hindu paratroopers to open fire, and within a matter of seconds, several hundred Muslims were killed. Rising up against this brutal action, a local barrister called Sardar Muhammad Ibrahim immediately set up the Azad Kashmir government and began to wage guerrilla warfare against the Maharaja. By October 1947, the war of Kashmir had begun in earnest. The Pathan tribesmen from the NWFP, wanting to avenge the deaths of their brothers, invaded the valley. On reaching the valley of Kashmir, they defeated the Maharaja's troops and reached the gates of Srinagar. The Maharaja sensing his defeat took refuge in Jammu whence he appealed to India to send troops to halt the onslaught of the tribesmen. India agreed on the condition that Kashmir would accede to India. On October 26, 1947, the Maharaja acceded to India. Lord Mountbatten accepted the accession on behalf of India.

On October 27, 1947, India began to airlift her troops to Srinagar, and launched a full-scale attack on the tribesmen. Pakistan rushed her regular troops into Kashmir and a full-scale war with India ensued. She took control of Azad Kashmir Army. But the Security Council on August 13, 1948, called for an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of all Pakistani and Indian troops and holding of plebiscite under United Nations' supervision. Both the Indian and Pakistani governments accepted the resolution..

In January 1949, the resolution began to be implemented. In July 1949, the ceasefire line was demarcated. Pakistan's side of Kashmir consisted of some parts of Jammu, Poonch, some areas of Western Kashmir, Gilgit, and a great chunk of Ladakh territory near the Chinese border in the North. India kept the valley of Kashmir, Jammu and the remainder of Ladakh territory near the Tibet border. The cease-fire has remained in existence since 1949. The Kashmir issue still remains disputed and unresolved.

Pakistan found itself embedded in religious fanaticism, corruption, crushing of moral values, human rights, women’s rights, fundamental rights under the worst form of military dictators’ rule for almost 33 in a span of Pakistan’s chequered history of 62 years.
Objectives Resolution
On 7 March, 1949, the Objectives Resolution, was introduced by the first prime minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, and later adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 12 March, 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which is considered to be the "Magna Carta" of Pakistan's constitutional history, proclaimed the following principles:
1 Sovereignty belongs to Allah alone but He has delegated it to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him as a sacred trust; 2 The State shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people; 3 The principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed; 4 Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah; 5 Adequate provision shall be made for the minorities to freely profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures;.6 Pakistan shall be a federation; 7 Fundamental rights shall be guaranteed. 8. Judiciary shall be independent.

Musicial chairs
A game of musical chairs started after the assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951. During the next seven years, Pakistan witnessed six prime ministers. Khawaja Nazimuddin; Mohammad Ali Bogra; Chaudhry Mohammad Ali; Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar, and Feroz Khan Noon.

Maulvi Tamizuddin challenges dissolution
Under Quaid-i-Azam's constitutional framework, executive powers lay with the prime minister. When Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated on October 16, 1951, Khawaja Nazimuddin, who was the governor general at that time, took over as the second prime minister. Ghulam Muhammad, who had been finance minister since the inception of Pakistan, was elevated to the post of governor general. It was under Nazimuddin that the second draft of the Basic Principles Committee was presented to the Constituent Assembly on December 22, 1952. The final draft of the Constitution was prepared in 1954. However, just before the draft could be placed in the House for approval, the Assembly was dissolved by Ghulam Muhammad on 24 October,

Maulvi Tamizuddin, President of the Assembly, challenged the dissolution in the Sindh Chief Court, and won the historical case. The government in return, went to the Federal Court, where the judgment was given by the then Chief Justice Muhammad Munir, according to which Maulvi Tamizuddin lost the case. Constitutional history has proved that the superior court judgement against Maulvi Tamizuddin amounted to stabbing democracy behind its back.

Second Constituent Assembly
The second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was created on 28 May, 1955 under Governor General's Order No.12 of 1955. The Electoral College for this Assembly was the provincial assemblies of respective provinces. The strength of this Assembly was 80 members, half each from East Pakistan and West Pakistan. One of the major decisions taken by this Assembly was the establishment of West Pakistan (One Unit), with the aim to create parity between the two wings (East and West Pakistan). This Assembly also achieved its target by giving the first Constitution to the nation i.e. the Constitution of Pakistan 1956. The Constitution was enforced with effect from 23 March, 1956.

1956 Constitution
The 1956 Constitution provided for parliamentary form of government with all the executive powers in the hands of prime minister. President was head of the state and was to be elected by all members of the national and provincial assemblies. He was to hold office for five years. The president was to act on the advice of prime minister, except where he was empowered to act in his discretion. Parliament was unicameral. Legislative powers vested in the parliament, which consisted of the president and the National Assembly comprising 300 members divided equally between East and West Pakistan. In addition to these 300 seats, five seats were reserved for women for each of the two wings, for a period of 10 years: thus bringing the total membership of the House to 310.

Ayub appointed CMLA
On 5 March, 1956, Major General Sikandar Mirza became the first elected President of Pakistan. Although, the first general election was scheduled for early 1959, Sikandar Mirza abrogated the Constitution, dissolved the National and provincial assemblies, and declared Martial Law, on 7 October 1958. He appointed Gen Muhammad Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator.


During Ayub’s era, there was tremendous growth in the industrialisation sector but unfortunately the economy growth was lopsided. On the one hand, industrialisation gave rise to the famous 22 richest families in Pakistan, and on the other hand, it created a sea of poverty in smaller towns and villages,

Constitution of 1962
On June 8, 1962, martial law was lifted from Pakistan and the new Constitution was introduced. The Constitution of 1962 envisaged a federal state with presidential form of government, with National Assembly at the centre and the provincial assemblies in the provinces. The legislatures, both at centre and in provinces were unicameral. The federal system had been curtailed by allowing the provincial governors to be appointed directly by the president. All executive authority of the Republic of Pakistan, under the Constitution, vested in the office of the president. President appointed his cabinet members who were directly responsible to him.
The electoral system was made indirect, and the “Basic Democrats” for both wings were declared Electoral College for the purpose of electing the Assemblies and the president. Basic democrats were 80,000 in number (40,000 from each East and West Pakistan). The total membership of the National Assembly was 156, one half of whom was to be elected from East Pakistan and other half from West Pakistan. Also three seats were reserved for women from each province. The term of this Assembly was three years. The norm was established that if the president was from West Pakistan, the speaker was to be from East Pakistan and vice versa. One of the major achievements of this Assembly was the passage of Political Parities Act, 1962.

Ayub’s industrialization
During the General Ayub Khan’s era there was tremendous growth in the industrialisation sector but unfortunately the economy growth was lopsided. On the one hand, industrialisation gave rise to the famous 22 richest families in Pakistan and on the other hand, it created a sea of poverty in smaller towns and villages, where 70% of the population lived. The 22 families owned 66% of industrial capital, and also controlled banking and 97 per cent of insurance.

It resulted in the mass migration of the rural population to the industrial cities. Development took place only in the urban areas that left behind a huge gap in the development between the cities and the country-side. The economic gap between West Pakistan and East Pakistan (Bangladesh) grew wider. East Pakistan was ignored though it provided the golden fibre — jute, that helped boost the country’s economy. Ayub’s economic advisers espoused the concept of ``social inequality of greed'' by pointing out that income inequalities not only contributed to the growth of the economy but also made possible a real improvement for lower income groups..Yet, the 1960s era was called the decade of development and economic growth. Pakistan was often cited as a model of development in the ‘60s and, Pakistan's economic development efforts were beginning to be hailed as a rare success story.

Ayub’s era for a shorter period was an exceptionally successful period of economic management because it used institutions effectively to implement economic policy coordination, speed up economic decision-making and decentralised implementation processes and authority. The basic model of development was based on strong push in investments especially in water and power facilitated by the Indus basin treaty with India, relaxation of foreign exchange and investment controls, and much improved availability of long term industrial credit for the private sector through PICIC and IDB.



Yahya Khan’s dark era
On 25 March, 1969, the second martial law was imposed and General Yahya Khan took-over as the President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator. General Yahya's regime made no attempt to frame a constitution. The expectations were that a new constituent assembly would be set up by holding a free and fair election. In order to hold the proposed elections. Yahya Khan promulgated a Legal Framework Order on 30 March 1970 that spelled out the fundamental principles of the proposed constitution and the structure and composition of the national and provincial assemblies He later issued a Legal Framework Order (LFO), under which the first ever general elections were held on 7 December, 1970. This was the first Assembly elected on the adult franchise and population basis. It consisted of 313 members, 169 from East Pakistan and 144 from West Pakistan including 13 reserved seats for women (six were from West Pakistan and seven from East Pakistan). Soon after the elections, due to grave political differences, the province of East Pakistan seceded from West Pakistan with the military help of India and became a sovereign country, Bangladesh in 1971.

1973 Constitution
On 20 December, 1971 Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1928-1979) took over as the President of Pakistan as well as the first civil chief martial law administrator. His greatest achievement is the framing of 1973 Constitution. This Constitution, called the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, was promulgated on 14 August, 1973.

The 1973 Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government where the executive authority of the state vests with the Prime Minister. The President, according to the Constitution, is at the apex, representing the unity of the Republic.

From 1947 to 1973, the country had a unicameral system of legislature. Under the 1973 Constitution, Pakistan adopted bicameral system at the centre, called “The Parliament”, composing the president, the National Assembly and The Senate. Originally, the general seats of the National Assembly were 200 with additional 10 seats reserved for women, bringing the total strength to 210. The newly created Upper House i.e. the Senate had 63 members. Later in 1985 through a Presidential Order (PO No. 14 of 1985), seven seats were added to the general seats and ten to the reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. Ten seats were exclusively reserved for minorities to be filled through separate electorate system. Thus the total strength of the lower house reached to 237 members. Similarly the strength of Senate was also increased from 63 to 87.

Under the 1973 Constitution the National Assembly is elected for five years term, unless sooner dissolved. The seats in National Assembly, unlike the Senate, are allocated to each province and other units of the federation, on the basis of population. The Constitutional provision of 20 special seats for women lapsed in 1990, thus decreased the Assembly strength from 237 to 217. Under the Constitution, elections to the 10 seats reserved for minority were held on separate electorate basis.

Despite the tenure of the Assembly being five years, as prescribed in the Constitution, ZA.Bhutto, on 7 January, 1977 announced the holding of elections before time. Consequently, on 10 January, 1977, he advised the President to dissolve the National Assembly. Elections were held on 7 March, 1977. The opposition charged the government with rigging the elections of the National Assembly and thereafter boycotted the provincial assemblies’ elections. Since the opposition had not accepted the National Assembly elections result, they did not take oath.

Bhutto’s foreign policy
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto assumed positions of increasing responsibility in Ayub Khan’s government, culminating in his appointment as foreign minister in 1963. He charted a foreign policy of non-aligned neutrality for Pakistan in the 1960s and 1970s. He focused on bilateralism in seeking relations with the world states. Bilateralism may be termed as the crux of his foreign policy. It was based on parity between the two states. His foreign was not based on alliances. He believed in upholding the country’s sovereignty at all cost.



Bhutto strictly resumed implementation of his policy of non-aligned neutrality. He withdrew Pakistan from the British Commonwealth of Nations and from the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, sponsored by the United States. In July 1972 he negotiated the Simla Agreement, which confirmed a Line of Control dividing Kashmīr and prompted the withdrawal of Indian troops from Pakistani territory. To forge closer ties with the Islamic world, in 1974 Bhutto hosted the second meeting of the Organization of Islamic States in the historic city of Lahore. He used this forum to announce Pakistan’s official recognition of Bangladesh. To bolster Pakistan’s military defence capabilities, Bhutto laid the groundwork for a nuclear weapons programme.

He restructured Pakistan’s political commitments to rely less heavily on the West and instead achieve non-aligned neutrality. As part of this policy, he forged closer ties with China. Bhutto pursued a strident anti-India campaign over the disputed territory of Kashmīr. He did not moderate his anti-India stance, even after Ayub Khan signed a peace agreement with India in January 1966 in Tashkent.

Zia tramples democracy
On 5 July, 1977, the third army dictator, the then army chief, Gen Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, took over and imposed martial law. He trampled democracy, rule of law, and the liberals. Elected prime minister ZA Bhutto was hanged in his tenure which has been described in the judiciary circles as a “judicial killing.” On 24 December 1981, under Presidential Order (PO15 of 1981) a Federal Council (Majlis-e-Shoora) was constituted by the president. Its members were nominated by the president. The first session of this Council was held on 11 January, 1982. In this way, limited and controlled political activities were resumed, as a result of which general elections were later held for the National and Provincial Assemblies on 25 February, 1985, on non-party basis.



On 2 March 1985, the revival of Constitution Order (PO 14 of 1985) was issued in which a large number of amendments were made in the Constitution. The first session of the National Assembly was held 20 March 1985. Muhammad Khan Junejo, was nominated as the prime minister by the President. He received vote of confidence on 24 March 1985.

Islamisation under Zia’s tenure
Zia introduced the Zakat, Ushr, Islamic Hadood and Penal Code in the country. The government invited eminent scholars to compile laws about Islamic financing. The Zakat and Ushr Ordinance to Islamise the economic system was promulgated on June 20, 1980. It covered only Islamic organizations, associations and institutions. Zakat was to be deducted from bank accounts of Muslims at the rate of 2.5 percent annually above the balance of Rs 3,000. Ushr was levied on the yield of agricultural land in cash or kind at the rate of 10 percent of the agricultural yield, annually.

A Federal Shariah Court was established to decide cases according to the teachings of the Holy Quran and Sunnah. Appeals against the Lower and High Courts were to be presented before the Shariah Court for hearing. Zia selected his Majlis-i-Shoora in 1980. It was to be the Islamic parliament and act as the parliament in place of the National Assembly. Most of the members of the Shoora were intellectuals, scholars, ulema, journalists, economists and professionals belonging to different fields of life. Shoora was to act as a board of advisers for the president.

A Shariah Council consisting of ulema was established to look into the constitutional and legal matters of the State in order to bring them in line with Islamic thought. The media was also targeted. Television especially was brought under Islamisation campaign, news in Arabic were to be read on both television and radio, female anchor persons were required to cover their heads, the Azan was relayed regularly on radio and television to announce time for prayers. In the armed forces, the status of the religious teachers was raised to that of a Commissioned Officer..

Eighth Constitutional Amendment
On November 14, 1985, the eighth Constitutional Amendment was adopted by the Parliament. Besides changes in other Articles in the Constitution the significant Article 58(2)(b) was added, according to which the President acquired discretionary powers to dissolve the National Assembly. On 29 May, 1988 the Assembly was dissolved by the President by using the power acquired under Article 58(2)(b).

After the passing of Article 58(2)b, the National Assemblies were dissolved on five occasions — Zia-ul-Haq in 1988, Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990, and in 1993, Farooq Leghari in 1996 and in June 2001, Musharraf dissolved parliament and the four provincial legislatures.

However, just before the draft could be placed in the House for approval Ghulam Muhammad, dissolved the final draft of the Constitution on 24 October, 1954.
Third democratic era: 1988-1999
From 1988 to 1999, Pakistan was ruled by civilian governments, alternately headed by Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who were each elected twice and removed from office by the then presidents Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Farooq Leghari. under Article 58(2)(b).

Benazir rekindles democracy
Today, Benazir is being remembered in Pakistan and in the democratic states of the world as a martyr for freedom and democracy. Benazir’s death came as a shock to the 160 million peope of Pakistan, who cherish the memory of a lady who gave her life for democracy and rule of law. She has gone but her huge sarifices, stuggle for a cause — to see Pakistan a democratic, prosperous state — lives on in the memories of the toiling millions. There is still a glimmer of hope that Benazir’s vision of seeing Pakistan a welfare will become a reality one day.

The suffering, poor prople see light at the end of the tunnel in the democratic forces of Pakistan.and deep down, long for their leader’s dream to come true. On fatal December 27, 2007, Ms Bhutto was shot dead at Liaquat Bagh, Rawalpindi. On the importance democracy Benazir said, “It is imperative for all us to fight to save Pakistan by saving democracy. Democracy brings development and marginalised the anti-people forces. We must save Pakistan, save democracy, and save the fundamental rights of the People.”



Benazir firmly believed that only democracy can resolve the problems of extremism and terrorism. She even planned the engagement of those forces, who were blamed for her assassination by the current regime. Now, it will be the PPP's duty to complete her unfinished agenda. She had plans of an international conference of world leaders for initiating a grand dialogue between the Muslim world and the West in 2008. That was her greatest dream. Can her wish become a reality? That is a million dollar question but the optimistic view is “yes.”

Days before her death, the first woman prime minister of a Muslim country, finalised the manuscript of her new book “Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy and the West.” Mark Siegel had worked with Benazir as a collaborating writer from the West. The book's launch has accelerated the debate for the reconciliation between Islam and the West through democracy. Thus in all its likelihood, the book helped in framing of ideas of US President Barack Obama in his historic address in Cairo this year. Obama’s address focused on the Muslim world and he was seeking a reconciliation between the Muslim world and the West. This is exactly what Benazir stood for. The debate may give a new “life” to Ms Bhutto, but keeping that debate alive will be the biggest challenge for the Pakistani leaders.

Musharraf’s autocracy
The fourth military dictator to take over the country was former Chief of Army Staff General Parvez Musharraf. He forcefully took over the government of elected prime minister Nawaz Sharif and declared himself as Chief Executive through a Proclamation of Emergency, on 12 October, 1999. His era is the worst form of military autocracy. The institutions of judiciary, executive and legislature became subservient to the CMLA. Through Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) issued on 14 October, 1999, he held the Constitution in abeyance, suspended the Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies, chairman and deputy chairman senate, speaker, deputy speaker national and provincial assemblies and dismissed the federal and provincial governments. President Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was, however allowed to continue in his office. Under PCO (Order No. 6) 29 October 1999, (as amended by C.E. Order No.5, 4 July 2001), the National Security Council was established for the purpose to tender advice to the Chief Executive (later on President), on matters relating to Islamic ideology, national security, sovereignty, integrity and solidarity of Pakistan so as to achieve the aims and objective as enshrined in the Objectives Resolution 1949.

In June 2001, he became President of Pakistan along with the chief executive of the country. He also followed the ritual of all the dictators and had a sham referendum on 30 April, 2002. Then he held general elections in October, 2002 in which his hand-made party PML-Q won. In December 2003, 17th Amendment was introduced through which Musharraf legalized all of his unconstitutional measures with the help of MMA. The elections for 12th National Assembly was held on 10 October, 2002. On Oct 5, 2007, Musharraf promulgated the NRO to give an immediate relief to late PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto by giving indemnity in all cases registered against her by the Nawaz Sharif government. On March 5, 2008, an accountability court cleared Asif Ali Zardari of five corruption charges, including corruption and illegal use of property, under the NRO. Though the life of an ordinance is four months, but the NRO, which provides amnesty to public office holders charged in corruption cases between 1986 and 1999, was protected under Article 5(1)(2) of the PCO issued by Gen Musharraf while proclaiming the Nov 3, 2007 emergency.



On November 3, 2007, Musharraf declared a state of emergency effectively suspending the country’s constitution by a provisional constitutional order.. A news blackout was imposed on major private television stations. Several hundred protestors, journalists and political opponents of Musharraf were arrested. Supreme Court judges including the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudary, were dismissed and put under house arrest. The dismissal of CJ brought the lawyers on the roads and an unprecedented lawyers’ movement started against Musharraf. In the elections on 18 February, 2008, people gave their verdict against Musharraf. In the face of warnings by the PPP and PML-N leadership of impeachment by parliament, Musharraf announced his resignation as president in August 2008.

17th Amendment
The Constitution (17th Amendment) Act, 2003 was an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed in December 2003, after over a year of political wrangling between supporters and opponents of Musharraf. The Amendment made many changes to Pakistan's constitution. Many of these changes dealt with the office of the President and the reversal of the effects of the 13th.Amendment Following are the major points:

• President Musharraf's Legal Framework Order (LFO) was largely incorporated into the constitution, with a few changes.
• Article 63(1)(d) of the Constitution to become operative after December 31, 2004. The intent of this was to prohibit a person from holding both a political office (such as that of the President) and an "office of profit" - an office that is typically held by a career government servant, civil or military - such as the office of the Chief of Army Staff. Although this was supposed to separate the two types of office, a loophole - ".. other than an office declared by law .." - allowed Parliament to pass an ordinary law later in 2004 - permitting the President to hold on to the office of Chief of Army Staff, an option that President Musharraf then exercised.
• Should the President win a majority in a vote of confidence in the electoral college within 30 days of the passage of this amendment, he shall be deemed to be elected to the office of President. (On January 1, 2004, Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 electoral-college votes - a 56% majority - and was thereby deemed to be elected president.)
• The President regains the authority to dissolve the National Assembly - and thus effectively to dismiss the Pakistani Prime Minister - but the power to do so is made subject to an approval or veto by the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
• A Governor's power to dissolve a Provincial Assembly is similarly subject to Supreme Court approval or veto.
• Article 152A, which dealt with the National Security Council, was annulled. (The legal basis for the NSC is now an ordinary law, the National Security Council Act of 2004.)
• Ten laws had been added by the LFO to the Sixth Schedule, which is a list of "laws that are not to be altered, repealed or amended without the previous sanction of the President." After this amendment, five of those laws will lose their Sixth Schedule protection after six years. Laws to be unprotected include the four laws that established the system of democratic local governments. (Those in favour of this change have argued that it would enable each province to evolve its own systems. Opponents fear that authoritarian provincial governments could disempower or even dismantle the system of local democracies).

Zardari elected as president
In the ensuing presidential election, PPP co-chair Zardari was elected to replace Musharraf on September 9, 2008. Zardari (securing 481 electoral college votes) defeated PML-N’s candidate, Saeed-uz-Zaman Siddiqui (153 votes), and PML-Q’s Mushahid Hussain Syed (44). In the lead-up to the election PML-N left the governing coalition, which then comprised PPP, ANP, JUI-F and MQM. Nine PML-N ministers resigned shortly after the presidential election, citing the apparent reluctance of the PPP to reinstate judges previously dismissed during the 2007 state of emergency.


President Zardari during his one year tenure has found the going tough but he did not panic, took no wrong decisions and showed pragmatism in dealing with issues of vital nature. Credit goes to the president for adopting a tough policy against the Taliban. Unlike his predecessor, Gen Musharraf, Zardari from day one as president, made it clear that he meant business while dealing with important issues, and did not believe in lip service. Today, Pakistan government’s top priority is terrorism, which is beig handled successfully. The successful Swat operation has helped raised the stature of Pakistan at the world level. And for that, the credit goes to the president for giving the green signal and the heroic armed forces for fighting a valiant battle against the militants.

What has been noticeable in the smooth handling of intricate issues by President Zardari successfully is his temperament — cool, calm and composed. Zardari showed his skills in handling his political opponents in a reconcialation tone, keeping in mind the country’s solidarity and integrity uppermost.

Sharif’s disqualification, reinstatement
In late February 2009 the Supreme Court confirmed the disqualification of Nawaz Sharif and his brother Shabhaz from holding elected office. Following the verdict, governor’s rule was imposed in Punjab Province, where Shabhaz Sharif had held the post of chief minister, and Nawaz Sharif allied himself with the lawyers’ movement which had been campaigning for the reinstatement of the chief justice, asserting that the Supreme Court verdict demonstrated the lack of an independent judiciary. In May 2009 the Supreme Court reversed the judgment and Shabhaz Sharif was reinstated as chief minister in Punjab Province. In July 2009 the Supreme Court quashed Nawaz Sharif’s convictions of hijacking and terrorism (brought against him following the military coup of October 1999).

SC landmark judgement
The Supreme Court in its landmark judgement on July 31, 2009 declared Gen Parvez Musharraf’s Emergency Order of Nov 3, 2007, and most of the actions taken under it, including the appointment of over 100 superior court judges, as illegal and unconstitutional. Earlier, confronted by the prospect of large-scale popular unrest, in March 2009, government announced the reinstatement of deposed Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry and requested a review of the Supreme Court judgment that had disqualified the Sharifs from holding elected office.

Navid Riaz (Late)

speaker of Constituent Assembly of Pakistan?

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Perennial Student