The Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan (

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National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

on April 8, 2010, removing the power of the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces.Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

unilaterally, turning Pakistan from a

semi-presidential A semi-presidential republic, is a republic in which a president exists alongside a prime minister and a cabinet, with the latter two being responsible to the legislature of the state. It differs from a parliamentary republic in that it has a ...

to a

parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...

, and renaming North-West Frontier Province to

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

. It also gave Self-governing, legislative and financial autonomy to the Provinces. The package was intended to counter the sweeping powers amassed by the presidency under former presidents

General Pervez Musharraf General Pervez Musharraf ( ur, , Parvez Muśharraf; born 11 August 1943) is a former Pakistani politician and four-star general of the Pakistan Army who became the tenth president of Pakistan after the successful military takeover of the ...

and

General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law i ...

and to ease political instability in Pakistan.Pakistan Weighs Changes to Revise Constitution

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, 2010-04-06 The bill reversed many infringements on the

Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ur, ), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's Pakistani political parties, opposition ...

over several decades by its military rulers. The amendment bill was passed by the

Senate of Pakistan Senate of Pakistan or Aiwān-e-Bālā Pākistān ( ur, , , literally "Pakistan upper house"), is the upper legislative chamber of the bicameral legislature of Pakistan, and together with the National Assembly makes up the Parliament of Pakista ...

on April 15, 2010 and it became an act of parliament when President

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari ( ur, ; sd, ; born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician who is the president of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians and was the co-chairperson of Pakistan People's Party. He served as the 11th president of Pakistan ...

put his signature on the bill on April 19, 2010. It was the first time in Pakistan's history that a president relinquished a significant part of his powers willingly and transferred them to parliament and the office of the prime minister.

Background

The power of the president to dissolve the Parliament was enacted by the

Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan (Urdu: آئین پاکستان میں آٹھویں ترمیم) allowed the President to unilaterally dissolve the National Assembly and elected governments. The National Assembly of Pakistan ame ...

during the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified by a ...

of Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, before it was removed by then-

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (Urdu, Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani businessman and politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms. He is the longest-serving prime ...

during his second term by the Thirteenth Amendment. It was finally restored during the presidency of Gen. Pervez Musharraf by the Seventeenth Amendment. This bill is the first bill since 1973 to decrease the powers of the president. Back then, this amounted to the only democratically elected parliament to fully complete its tenure in the history of Pakistan from 2003–2008, albeit under Musharraf. The second complete parliamentary term was completed by the PPP led government from 20082013 which had in fact passed the 18th Amendment. However, this 20082013 term is often touted to be the first complete democratic change of power without a military president or a coup de etat in Pakistan.

Changes to the Constitution

The major new features were also introduced into the constitution, including the following: * The name of the former president of Pakistan, Gen Zia ul haq, has been removed from the text of Constitution * The 17th Amendment and Legal Framework Order as introduced by Musharraf has been repealed * Turning Pakistan from a

to a

* The Self-governing, legislative and financial autonomy was granted to the

Provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followin ...

has been renamed to

* The ban on third time prime ministership and chief ministership has been lifted * Holding constitution in abeyance is tantamount to high treason * The

Council of Common Interests The Council of Common Interests (CCI) ( ur, ) is a constitutional body in the Government of Pakistan. It is appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister. The CCI resolves the disputes of power sharing between the federation and ...

(CCI) has been reconstituted with the prime minister as its chairperson and the body should meet at least once in 90 days * The restructuring of

National Finance Commission Award The National Finance Commission Award or NFC is a series of planned economic programs in Pakistan enacted since 1951. Constituted under thArticle 160of the Constitution, the program was emerged to take control of financial imbalances and equally ...

(NFC Award) * A Independent judicial commission will recommend the appointment procedure of superior judges and the final names of judges will be decided by parliamentary commission * A Chief Election Commissioner will be appointed through consensus between treasury and opposition * Establishment of

Islamabad High Court The Islamabad High Court is the senior court of the Islamabad Capital Territory, Pakistan, with appellate jurisdiction over the following district courts: * Islamabad District Court (East) * Islamabad District Court (West) Justice Aamer Far ...

and benches of high courts in Mingora and Turbat * Recognition of the children's right to education and insertion of a new section under Article 25A to provide constitutional guarantee that state will provide free and compulsory education to all girls and boys up to age 16. * The power to dissolve the parliament was withdrawn from the President.

Impact

292 of the 342 members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, the lower house of Parliament, voted in favour of the amendment. The amendment turns the President into a ceremonial

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and transfers power to the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, and removes the limit on a Prime Minister serving more than two terms, opening the way for

to run again. The North-West Frontier Province is renamed

, in accordance with the wishes of its

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

-majority population. Among other changes, courts will no longer be able to endorse suspensions of the

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

, a judicial commission will appoint judges, and the president will no longer be able to appoint the head of the

Election Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

.Pakistan's national assembly passes key constitutional reforms

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, 2010-04-08 The bill also enhances provincial autonomy. The President will no longer be able to declare

emergency rule A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

in any province unilaterally.Pakistan parliament agrees to curb presidential powers

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, 2010-04-08

Devolved ministries

The following ministries were devolved at federal level and were given to the provinces. According to 18th Amendment: # Ministry of Education became

Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training ( ur, ) is a federal ministry of the Government of Pakistan. The ministry's political head is known as thMinister for Education (Pakistan) , Minister of Pakistanand the ministry's b ...

# Ministry of Archaeology and Culture became

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) *Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) * Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

# Ministry of environment became Ministry of Climate Change # Ministry of health became

Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination ( ur, ; abbreviated as MoNHSRC) is a Cabinet of Pakistan, cabinet level ministry of the government of Pakistan with responsibility for national public health. Organization He ...

# Ministry of special initiatives abolished at federal level. # Ministry of labour and manpower became Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis & Human Resource Development # Ministry of local government and rural development abolished at federal level. # Ministry of minorities’ affairs merged with the Ministry of Religious Affairs # Ministry of population welfare abolished at federal level. # Ministry of social welfare and special education abolished at federal level. # Ministry of sports became Pakistan Sports Board at federal level and given to provinces. # Ministry of tourism's powers given to

Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation or PTDC ( ur, ) is an organization of the Government of Pakistan. PTDC is governed by the Board of Directors and provides transportation to various areas and owns and runs several motels across the coun ...

# Ministry of women development abolished at federal level. # Ministry of youth affairs abolished at federal level. # Ministry of Zakat and Ushr abolished at federal level given to provinces.

Response

Ahmed Kurd, former president of the

Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan The Supreme Court Bar Association ( ur, )(SCBAP) is an association established in 1989 comprising the supreme court lawyers in Pakistan. The Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act 1973 provides for the forming, recognition and functioning of ...

, said "We fully support the 18th Amendment. It is tantamount to the overhauling of the constitution, which had been subverted by military dictators since its inception. In the past, parliaments have just been 'rubber stamps', whereas the present parliament seemed to be well aware of its obligations, and therefore, was 'throwing out' the 'unconstitutional' amendments."Lawyers' majority endorses 18th Amendment

Daily Times (Pakistan) The ''Daily Times'' (''DT'') is an English-language Pakistani newspaper. Launched on April 9, 2002, ''Daily Times'', is simultaneously published from Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. The newspaper was owned by Governor of Punjab and Pakistan Peo ...

, 2010-04-08

References

External links

Text of the Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010 on pakistani.org
{{Constitution of Pakistan 2010 in law 2010 in Pakistan 18 2010 in Pakistani politics