The Legal Framework Order, 1970 (LFO) was a
presidential decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...
issued by then-
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Gen.
Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan that laid down the political principles and laws governing the
1970 general election, which was the first direct election in the history of Pakistan.
The LFO also dissolved the "
One Unit
The One Unit Scheme (; ) was the reorganisation of the provinces of Pakistan by the central Pakistani government. It was led by Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra on 22 November 1954 and passed on 30 September 1955. The government claimed tha ...
" of
West Pakistan
West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...
, re-establishing the four provinces of
Punjab
Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...
,
Sindh
Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
,
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
and the
North-West Frontier Province
The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...
(now
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
).
Pakistan would be a democratic country and the complete name of the country would be the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Foundation and proposals
Gen. Yahya Khan had taken over from his predecessor President
Ayub Khan with the purpose of restoring law and order in Pakistan that had deteriorated in the final days of Ayub's regime.
Yahya promised to transition the country to democracy and promised to hold direct elections for that purpose.
However, Gen. Yahya also had to decide on how the two wings of the country,
East Pakistan
East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
and
West Pakistan
West Pakistan was the western province of Pakistan between One Unit, 1955 and Legal Framework Order, 1970, 1970, covering the territory of present-day Pakistan. Its land borders were with Afghanistan, India and Iran, with a maritime border wit ...
would be represented.
Although geographically smaller and separated from West Pakistan by the whole width of
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, East Pakistan (erstwhile
East Bengal
East Bengal (; ''Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo'') was the eastern province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the Bengal region, and existed from 1947 until 195 ...
) consisted of more than half the national population and was predominantly inhabited by
Bengali people
Bengalis ( ), also rendered as endonym Bangalee, are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the Bengal region of South Asia. The current population is divided between the sovereign country Bangl ...
. Allegations of ethnic discrimination and lack of representation had caused turmoil and conflict between the two wings of Pakistan.
The
Awami League
The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...
, the largest political party in East Pakistan, espoused
Bengali nationalism
Bengali nationalism (, ) is a form of ethnic nationalism that focuses on Bengalis as a single ethnicity by rejecting imposition of other languages and cultures while promoting its own in Bengal. Bengalis speak the Bengali language and mos ...
and sought greater autonomy for the province, which most West Pakistanis saw as secessionist.
Yahya Khan held talks with East Pakistan's Governor, Vice-Admiral Ahsan, and concluded that Sheikh Mujib would soften his demands after the election. Yahya instituted the Legal Framework Order (LFO) on March 30, 1970, with the aim to secure the future constitution.
Provisions
The LFO called for direct elections for a
unicameral legislature
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
, the
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...
. The LFO decreed that the assembly would be composed of 313 seats.
Departing from the precedent of the
1956 Constitution of Pakistan, which stipulated for parity between the two wings, the LFO called for
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
, giving the more populous East Pakistan 169 seats in turn for West Pakistan's 144.
The LFO stipulated that the National Assembly would have to create a new constitution for the state of Pakistan within 120 days of being convened, but reserved the right of approving the Constitution to the President and left the rules of the process in the hands of the new assembly to come.
New elections would be called if the Assembly failed to come to an agreement in 120 days - all formulations and agreements proposed by political parties would require "authentication" by the president.
The LFO also dissolved the "One Unit scheme", which had combined the four provinces of the western wing to constitute the political unit of West Pakistan.
The LFO also stipulated that the future Constitution was to include five principles.
# The state's Islamic ideology and reserving the role of the Head of State for Muslims exclusively.
# Free and regular elections, both provincial and federal, based on provincial populations and universal suffrage.
# Judicial independence and human rights for the citizenry.
# Assurance of maximum autonomy for the provinces while protecting the country's territorial sovereignty and providing sufficient powers to the Federal Government for functioning both internally and externally.
# Providing national participation to all citizens with the removal of all regional and provincial disparities.
Outcome
The LFO met a long-standing demand of Bengalis by accepting proportional representation, to the chagrin of many West Pakistanis who resisted the notion of an East Pakistani-led government.
Many East Pakistanis criticised the LFO's reservation for the President the power to authenticate the Constitution. Yahya Khan assured Bengalis that this was only a procedural formality and necessary for the democratisation of the country. Yahya Khan ignored reports from the intelligence agencies about the increase in Indian influence in East Pakistan and that Mujib intended to tear up the LFO after the elections.
Contrary to Yahya Khan's opinion that the Awami League would not win the elections in the East wing,
the Awami League won all but two seats from East Pakistan, gaining a majority in the National Assembly and thus not needing the support of any West Pakistani political party. As the LFO had not laid down any rules for the process of writing a constitution, an Awami League-controlled government would oversee the passage of a new constitution with a simple majority.
The
Pakistan Peoples Party
The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
of
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979) was a Pakistani barrister and politician who served as the fourth president of Pakistan from 1971 to 1973 and later as the ninth Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan from 19 ...
, which had emerged as the largest political party in West Pakistan, declared it would boycott the new legislature, which severely aggravated tensions. After the failure of talks, Gen. Yahya postponed the convening of the legislature, a decision that provoked outright rebellion in East Pakistan and consequently led to the
Bangladesh Liberation War
The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...
in 1971.
References
{{reflist
Constitution of Pakistan
1970 in Pakistan
Elections in Pakistan
Federalism in Pakistan
1970 documents
Yahya Khan