Senate of Pakistan House of the Federation | |
|---|---|
| List of senators of Pakistan | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | 6 years |
| History | |
| Founded | August 14, 1973; 52 years ago (1973-08-14) |
| Leadership | |
Vacant since 5 August 2025[1] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 96 |
 | |
Political groups | Government Coalition (63) Opposition (30) |
| Elections | |
| Indirectsingle transferable vote | |
Last election | 2 April 2024 (37 seats) |
Next election | 2027 (48 seats) |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Senate Secretariat Parliament House,Red Zone,Islamabad | |
| Website | |
| Official website | |
TheSenate of Pakistan,[a]constitutionally theHouse of the Federation and commonly theUpper House,[b] is theupper chamber of thebicameralParliament of Pakistan, with theNational Assembly being thelower chamber. It functions as theinstitutionalrepresentative of thePakistani federating units at thefederal level. With a maximum membership of 96,provincial legislatures elect 23 each, usingsingle transferable vote; with four representing thefederal capital. Members, referred to as 'senators', sit for six year-terms, with half of the house up for election every three years. Unlike the National Assembly, the Senate is a continuing chamber and hence not subject to dissolution.
First convened in 1973, the Senate's composition and powers are established by theArticle 59 of theConstitution of Pakistan.[2] Each of the fourprovinces is represented by 23 senators regardless of population, while theIslamabad Capital Territory is represented by four senators, all of whom serve staggered six-year terms.[3] The Senate secretariat is located in the east wing of theParliament Building; theNational Assembly convenes in the west wing of the same building.[4]
The Senate has several exclusive powers not granted to theNational Assembly, including the powers of making parliamentarybills as a being enforced intolaw.[clarification needed] Elections are held every three years for one half of theSenate and each Senator has a term of six years.[5] TheConstitution does not allow for the dissolution of the Senate.[6]
AfterIndependence, the firstConstituent Assembly of Pakistan, elected in December 1947 after partition, was assigned the task of framing theConstitution of Pakistan. This Assembly passed theObjectives Resolution on 12 March 1949, laying down principles which later became a substantive part of theConstitution of Pakistan. However, before it could accomplish the task of framing the constitution, it was dissolved in October 1954. Thereafter, theGovernor General, convened the Second Constituent Assembly in May 1955, which framed and passed the first Constitution of Pakistan on 29 February 1956. That Constitution was promulgated on 23 March 1956, which provided for a parliamentary form of Government with aunicameral legislature. Hence, from 14 August 1947 to 1 March 1956, theGovernment of India Act 1935 was retained as the Constitution of Pakistan.
On October 7, 1958, Martial Law was promulgated and the Constitution abrogated. The Military Government appointed a Constitution Commission in February 1960 which framed the 1962 Constitution. That Constitution provided for a Presidential form of Government with a unicameral legislature. The 1962 Constitution was abrogated on 25 March 1969. The Civil Government, which came to power in December 1971 pursuant to 1970 elections, gave the nation an interim Constitution in the year 1972.
The 1970 Assembly framed the 1973 Constitution, which was unanimously passed on 12 April and promulgated on 14 August 1973. The 1973 Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of Government with abicameral legislature, comprising theNational Assembly and the Senate.
The membership of the Senate, which was originally 45, was raised to 63 in 1977 and to 87 in 1985. The government of Gen.Pervez Musharraf raised the membership of the Senate from 87 to 100 through the Legal Framework Order (LFO), 2002, enforced on 21 August 2002 and the government ofAsif Ali Zardari raised the membership of the Senate from 100 to 104 through the 18th amendment in 2011 (four minority members from four provinces). After the Twenty-Fifth Amendment, the number of seats in the Senate was reduced to 96, as the seats for FATA were removed after its merger with KPK.
The main purpose for the creation of the Senate of Pakistan was to give equal representation to all thefederating units since the membership of the National Assembly was based on the population of each province. Equal provincial membership in the Senate, thus, balances the provincial inequality in the National Assembly.
There are one hundred senatorial seats. There are 18 women Senators; Pakistani constitution requires that there be at least 17 women Senators. Members of the Senate are elected according to Article 59 of the Constitution.
Under Article 50 of the Constitution, the Majlis-i-Shoora (Parliament) of Pakistan consists of the President and two Houses, to be known respectively as the National Assembly and the Senate. The President is elected by members of both Houses of the Parliament and the Provincial Assemblies. The President may be removed from office or impeached through a resolution, passed by not less than two-thirds of the total membership of the Parliament in a joint sitting of the two Houses, convened for the purpose. In the event that the office of the President becomes vacant, theChairman of the Senate acts as President till such time that the position may be filled through a by election. This also occurs when the President, by reason of absence or any other incapacity, is unable to effectively exercise their office.
Unless both the Houses pass a Bill, and it receives the President's assent it cannot become a law including in the case of a money bill which is the sole prerogative of the National Assembly. Through an amendment, the role of a Mediation Committee, composed of eight members of each House, has been introduced to evolve consensus on Bills, in case there is a disagreement between the two houses
The Constitution provides that there shall be a Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister, which is collectively responsible to the National Assembly. The Prime Minister is chosen from the National Assembly. The Federal Ministers and Ministers of State are appointed from among the members of Parliament. However, the number of Federal Ministers and Ministers of State who are members of Senate, shall not at any time, exceed one fourth of the numbers of Federal Ministers.
| No. | Term start | Term end |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1973 | 1975 |
| 2 | 1975 | 1977 |
| 3 | 1985 | 1988 |
| 4 | 1988 | 1991 |
| 5 | 1991 | 1994 |
| 6 | 1994 | 1997 |
| 7 | 1997 | 2000 |
| 8 | 2003 | 2006 |
| 9 | 2003 | 2009 |
| 10 | 2006 | 2012 |
| 11 | 2009 | 2015 |
| 12 | 2012 | 2018 |
| 13 | 2015 | 2021 |
| 14 | 2018 | 2024 |
| 15 | 2021 | 2027 |
| 16 | 2024 | 2030 |
| Province/Territory | General seats | Technocrats/Ulema | Women | Non-Muslim | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balochistan | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| Sindh | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| Punjab | 14 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 23 |
| Islamabad Capital Territory | 2 | 1 | 1 | - | 4 |
| Total | 58 | 17 | 17 | 4 | 96 |
(1) The Senate shall consist of 96 members, of whom:
(2) Election to fill seats in the Senate allocated to each Province shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
(3) The Senate shall not be subject to dissolution but the term of its members of parliaments, who shall retire as follows, shall be six years:-
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