The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan ( bn, পাকিস্তান গণপরিষদ, Pākistān Goṇoporishod; ur, , Aāin Sāz Asimblī) was established in August 1947 to frame
a constitution for Pakistan. It also served as its first interim
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 ...
. It was dissolved by the
Governor-General of Pakistan
The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islami ...
in 1954.
First Session
The members were originally elected to the
Constituent Assembly of undivided India before they abdicated in the aftermath of the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
. The members were as follows:
Pakistan's Constituent Assembly first convened on August 10, 1947, on the eve of independence and the end of
British rule
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...
.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...
was elected as the speaker of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on the same day and remained its president until his death on September 11, 1948. Subsequently,
Liaquat Ali Khan
Liaquat Ali Khan ( ur, ; 1 October 1895 – 16 October 1951), also referred to in Pakistan as ''Quaid-e-Millat'' () or ''Shaheed-e-Millat'' ( ur, lit=Martyr of the Nation, label=none, ), was a Pakistani statesman, lawyer, political theoris ...
headed it for three years and produced the
Objectives Resolution
The Objectives Resolution ( ur, ) was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on March 12, 1949. Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, had presented it in the assembly on March 7, 1949. Out of 75 members of ...
, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly in March 12, 1949 as an annex to Pakistan's constitution. It is important to mention that 21 members out of 69 voted for the Objectives Resolution. The assembly had a majority of
Muslim League Muslim League may refer to:
Political parties Subcontinent
; British India
*All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan.
**Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...
members, with the
Pakistan National Congress
The Pakistan National Congress (PNC), later known as the Bangladesh National Congress, was a political party that mainly represented the Hindus and other religious minorities in Pakistan. The party championed secularism in the Muslim-dominated st ...
, the successor to the
INC
Inc. or inc may refer to:
* Incorporation (business), as a suffix indicating a corporation
* ''Inc.'' (magazine), an American business magazine
* Inc. No World, a Los Angeles-based band
* Indian National Congress, a political party in India
* I ...
in the state, forming the second largest party.
![Jinnah speaking on 14 August 1947](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Jinnah_speaking_on_14_August_1947.jpg)
The assembly was widely criticised for its incompetence. Addressing a rally in Lahore on October 14, 1950, Maulana
Maududi
Abul A'la al-Maududi ( ur, , translit=Abū al-Aʿlā al-Mawdūdī; – ) was an Islamic scholar, Islamist ideologue, Muslim philosopher, jurist, historian, journalist, activist and scholar active in British India and later, following the part ...
demanded its dissolution, arguing that the "lampost legislators" were incapable of drawing up an Islamic constitution.
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy ( bn, হোসেন শহীদ সোহ্রাওয়ার্দী; ur, ; 8 September 18925 December 1963) was a Bengali barrister and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1956 t ...
said that assembly did not possess any of the characteristics of a democratic parliament. He argued that the nation would overlook any unconstitutional action on the governor general's part if he exorcised the fascist demon and established representative institutions.
The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was dissolved on October 24, 1954 by Governor General
Malik Ghulam Muhammad
Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammad ( ur, ; 20 April 1895 – 29 August 1956), was a Pakistani politician and financier who served as the third governor-general of Pakistan, appointed in this capacity in 1951 until being dismissed in 1955 due to healt ...
.
The dissolution was challenged by the president of the assembly in the notable case of ''
Federation of Pakistan v. Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan'', in which the federal court took the side of the governor general, in spite of dissent from one judge.
Mohammad Ali Bogra
Sahibzada Syed Mohammad Ali Chowdhury ( bn, সৈয়দ মোহাম্মদ আলী চৌধুরী; Urdu: سید محمد علی چوہدری), more commonly known as Mohammad Ali Bogra ( bn, মোহাম্মদ আলী ...
was the
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Paki ...
at the time.
Second Session
The second Constituent Assembly reconstituted on May 28, 1955. The constitution was promulgated on March 23, 1956, making Pakistan an
Islamic republic
The term Islamic republic has been used in different ways. Some Muslim religious leaders have used it as the name for a theoretical form of Islamic theocratic government enforcing sharia, or laws compatible with sharia. The term has also been u ...
. On October 7, 1958, martial law was imposed on the country by
Iskander Mirza
Sahibzada Iskander Ali Mirza ( bn, ইস্কান্দার আলী মির্জা; ur, ; 13 November 1899 – 13 November 1969), , was a Pakistani Bengali general officer and civil servant who was the first President of Pakis ...
, with army chief
Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
appointed as the chief martial law administrator.
The new leaders abrogated the constitution, declaring it unworkable.
After coming to power,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
invited the leaders of the parliamentary parties to meet him on October 17, 1972, which led to an agreement known as the 'constitutional accord', which was reached after intensive talks. As per consultations floated by the PPP, the National Assembly of Pakistan appointed a 25-member committee led by
Mahmud Ali Kasuri Mian Mahmud Ali Kasuri (1910–1987) was a prominent Pakistani opposition politician, human rights advocate and lawyer who became a Senior Advocate Supreme Court.
He joined the He served in the Indian National Congress (INC) Party before Pakistan's ...
on April 17, 1972 to prepare a draft of a permanent constitution for Pakistan. On October 20, 1972, the draft bill for the constitution was signed by leaders of all parliamentary groups in the National Assembly. A bill to provide a constitution for the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was introduced in the assembly on February 2, 1973. The assembly passed the bill nearly unanimously on April 10, 1973 and it was endorsed by the acting President
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
on April 12, 1973.
Jennifer Musa The constitution came into effect on August 14, 1973.
On the same day, Bhutto took over as the prime minister and
Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Choudhary Fazal-e-Elahi as the president, both for a 5-year term. On July 5, 1977,
General Zia
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 ...
staged a military coup, suspended the constitution (which was later restored in 1985), and declared martial law. Similarly, when
General 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 th ...
took over in 1999, the constitution was suspended for several years and the parliament was dissolved.
See also
*
Constituent assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
*
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 ...
References
{{reflist
External links
History of Pakistan's National Assembly
Parliament of Pakistan
Pakistan Movement
Constitution of Pakistan
Government of Pakistan