Constitution

The president, in keeping with the constitutional provision that the state religion is Islam, must be a Muslim.

Early constitutional beginnings

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The first major step in framing a Constitution was the passage by the Constituent Assembly of the Objectives Resolution of March 1949, which defined the basic principles of the new state. It provided that Pakistan would be a state:

"wherein the principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed; wherein the Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunna; [and] wherein adequate provision shall be made for the minorities freely to progress and practice their religions and develop their cultures."

Seven years of debate, however, failed to produce agreement on fundamental issues such as regional representation or the structure of a Constitution. This impasse prompted Governor General Ghulam Mohammad to dismiss the Constituent Assembly in 1954. The Supreme Court of Pakistan upheld the action of the Governor General, arguing that he had the power to disband the Constituent Assembly and veto legislation it passed. This pre-eminence of the Governor General over the legislature has been referred to as the vice-regal tradition in Pakistan's politics.

The Constitution of 1956

The revived Constituent Assembly promulgated Pakistan's first indigenous Constitution in 1956 and reconstituted itself as the national legislature--the Legislative Assembly--under the Constitution it adopted. Pakistan became an Islamic republic. The Governor General was replaced by a President.

The Constitution of 1973

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, President from 1971 to 1977, lifted martial law within several months after his election, and after an "interim Constitution" granting him broad powers as President, a new Constitution was promulgated in April 1973 and came into effect on August 14 of that year, the twenty-sixth anniversary of the country's independence. This Constitution represented a consensus on three issues: the role of Islam; the sharing of power between the federal government and the provinces; and the division of responsibility between the president and the prime minister, with a greatly strengthened position for the latter. Bhutto stepped down as president and became prime minister. In order to allay fears of the smaller provinces concerning domination by Punjab, the Constitution established a bicameral legislature with a Senate, providing equal provincial representation, and a National Assembly, allocating seats according to population. Islam was declared the state religion of Pakistan.

Bhutto had the opportunity to resolve many of Pakistan's political problems. But although the country finally seemed to be on a democratic course, Bhutto lost this opportunity because of series of repressive actions against the political opposition that made it appear he was working to establish a one-party state. In a final step, he suddenly called national elections in March 1977, hoping to catch the opposition unprepared and give his party total control of the National Assembly.

President

The president, in keeping with the constitutional provision that the state religion is Islam, must be a Muslim. Elected for a five-year term by an Electoral College consisting of members of the Senate and National Assembly and members of the provincial assemblies, the president is eligible for re-election. But no individual may hold the office for more than two consecutive terms. The president may resign or be impeached and may be removed from office for incapacity or gross misconduct by a two-thirds vote of the members of the Parliament. The president generally acts on the advice of the prime minister but has important residual powers. One of the most important--a legacy of Zia--is contained in the Eighth Amendment which gives the president the power to dissolve the National Assembly "in his discretion where, in his opinion . . . a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary." The Thirteenth Amendment which was passed in 1997, revoked this power. In December 2003, the President's power was partially restored by the Seventeenth Amendment. In April 2004, the Presidency's influence was augmented by an Act of Parliament that established the National Security Council, a body chaired by the President.