Constituent Assembly of Pakistan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 10 August 1947 (1947-08-10) |
| Disbanded | 23 March 1956; 69 years ago (1956-03-23) |
| Preceded by | Constituent Assembly of India |
| Succeeded by | Parliament of Pakistan |
| Leadership | |
President | |
| Seats | 96 |
| Meeting place | |
| Sindh Assembly building, Karachi | |
TheConstituent Assembly of Pakistan[a] was the supreme federal legislature of theDominion of Pakistan. It was established in August 1947 with the primary tasks of framinga constitution; and serving as an interim parliament. It was officially dissolved on 23 March 1956 and succeeded by theParliament of Pakistan when thefirst Pakistani constitution was promulgated.[1]
The members were originally elected to theConstituent Assembly of India before they abdicated in the aftermath of thepartition of India. Later the members were elected in1947 elections. The members were as follows:[2]
Pakistan's Constituent Assembly first convened on August 10, 1947, on the eve of independence and the end ofBritish rule.[3]Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected as the president of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on the same day and remained its president until his death on September 11, 1948.[3] Subsequently,Liaquat Ali Khan headed it for three years and produced theObjectives Resolution, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on March 12, 1949, as an annex to Pakistan's constitution.[4] It is important to mention that 21 members out of 69 voted for the Objectives Resolution.[5] The assembly had a majority ofMuslim League members, with thePakistan National Congress, the successor to theINC in the state, forming the second largest party, solely representingHindus.
The assembly was widely criticised for its incompetence. Addressing a rally in Lahore on October 14, 1950,Syed Abul Ala Maududi, leader of theJamaat e Islami demanded its dissolution, arguing that the "lampost legislators" were incapable of drawing up an Islamic constitution.[citation needed]Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy said that assembly did not possess any of the characteristics of a democratic parliament.[citation needed] 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.[6]The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was dissolved on October 24, 1954, by Governor GeneralMalik Ghulam Muhammad.[7] The dissolution was challenged by the president of the assembly in the notable case ofFederation 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 was thePrime Minister of Pakistan at the time.[3]
The second Constituent Assembly was elected in theSecond Constituent Assembly election on June 21, 1955.
The members of the 2nd constituent assembly were[8]
TheMuslim League continued to be the largest party in this assembly, whereas theKrishak Sramik Party ledUnited Front replaced the Pakistan National Congress as the main opposition group.The constitution was promulgated on March 23, 1956,[citation needed] making Pakistan anIslamic republic.[1] On October 7, 1958, martial law was imposed on the country byIskander Mirza, with army chiefAyub Khan appointed as the chief martial law administrator.[9] The new leaders abrogated the constitution, declaring it unworkable.[9]
After coming to power,Zulfikar Ali Bhutto 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.[10] As per consultations floated by the PPP, the National Assembly of Pakistan appointed a 25-member committee led byMahmud Ali Kasuri on April 17, 1972, to prepare a draft of a permanent constitution for Pakistan.[11] 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 Bhutto on April 12, 1973.[12][7] Theconstitution came into effect on August 14, 1973.[7] On the same day, Bhutto took over as the prime minister andChoudhary Fazal-e-Elahi as the president, both for a 5-year term.[13]
On July 5, 1977,General Zia staged a military coup, suspended the constitution (which was later restored in 1985), and declared martial law.[14] Similarly, whenGeneral Musharraf took over in 1999, the constitution was suspended for several years and the parliament was dissolved.[15]