Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
Encyclopedia
Amendment XVIII of the Constitution of Pakistan, was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan
on April 8, 2010, removing the power of the President of Pakistan
to dissolve the Parliament unilaterally, turning Pakistan from a semi-presidential
to a parliamentary republic
, and renaming North-West Frontier Province
to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The package is expected to counter the sweeping powers amassed by the Presidency under former Presidents General Pervez Musharraf and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and to ease political instability in Pakistan. The 'historic' bill reverses many infringements on Constitution of Pakistan
over several decades by its military rulers
. The amendment bill was passed by the Senate of Pakistan
on April 15, 2010 and became an act of parliament when a smiling President Asif Ali Zardari
put his signature on the bill on April 19, 2010. It was the first time in the history of Pakistan that a president relinquished a significant part of his powers willingly and transferred them to parliament and the office of the prime minister.
during the presidency of Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
, before it was removed by then-Prime minister
Nawaz Sharif
during his second term by the Thirteenth Amendment
. It was finally restored during the presidency of Gen. Pervez Musharraf
by the Seventeenth Amendment
. The only democratically elected parliament to fully complete its tenure in the history of Pakistan was from 2003 - 2008, surprisingly under President Pervez Musharraf widely labelled as a dictator in Pakistan. This bill is the first bill since 1973 to decrease the powers of the President.
, the lower house of Parliament, voted in favour of the amendment, in a vote that was described as historic and shown live on television. The amendment turns the President into a ceremonial head of state
and transfers power to the Prime Minister
, and removes the limit on a Prime Minister serving more than two terms, opening the way for Nawaz Sharif
to run again. The North-West Frontier Province
is renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in accordance with the wishes of its Pashtun
-majority population. Among other changes, courts will no longer be able to endorse suspensions of the constitution
, a judicial commission will appoint judges, and the president will no longer be able to appoint the head of the Election Commission. The bill also enhances provincial autonomy. The President will no longer be able to declare emergency rule in any province unilaterally.
, speaking after the passage of the bill, stated that "it is dividend of the politics of reconciliation that the Nation
and the Parliament are united today and we have repealed undemocratic laws inserted to Constitution by dictators." An editorial published in Dawn
welcomed the amendment and urged to parliament to go further and undo the destructive legacy of General Zia's rule and re-examine the Hudood Ordinance
and Blasphemy law in Pakistan
. Ahmed Kurd, former president of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan
, 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."
However violence broke out in the North West Frontier Province's Hazara Division
where the Hindko
-speaking population opposed the attempts to rename the province Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
on April 8, 2010, removing the power of the President of Pakistan
President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state, as well as figurehead, of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Recently passed an XVIII Amendment , Pakistan has a parliamentary democratic system of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a...
to dissolve the Parliament unilaterally, turning Pakistan from a semi-presidential
Semi-presidential system
The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...
to a parliamentary republic
Parliamentary republic
A parliamentary republic or parliamentary constitutional republic is a type of republic which operates under a parliamentary system of government - meaning a system with no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. There are a number of variations of...
, and renaming North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The package is expected to counter the sweeping powers amassed by the Presidency under former Presidents General Pervez Musharraf and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq and to ease political instability in Pakistan. The 'historic' bill reverses many infringements on Constitution of Pakistan
Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
over several decades by its military rulers
Military dictatorship
A military dictatorship is a form of government where in the political power resides with the military. It is similar but not identical to a stratocracy, a state ruled directly by the military....
. The amendment bill was passed by the Senate of Pakistan
Senate of Pakistan
The Senate of Pakistan is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. Elections are held every three years for one half of the senate and each senator has a term of six years...
on April 15, 2010 and became an act of parliament when a smiling President Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari
Asif Ali Zardari is the 11th and current President of Pakistan and the Co-Chairman of the ruling Pakistan Peoples Party . He is also the widower of Benazir Bhutto, who served two nonconsecutive terms as Prime Minister....
put his signature on the bill on April 19, 2010. It was the first time in the history of Pakistan 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 PakistanEighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
The VIII Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, was short-time amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which was passed by the Majlis-e-Shoora, in the absence of elected Parliament of Pakistan, in 1985. The VIII Amendment was drafted and later enforced by the joint Technocratic-Military...
during the presidency of Gen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq
General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq , was the 4th Chief Martial Law Administrator and the sixth President of Pakistan from July 1977 to his death in August 1988...
, before it was removed by then-Prime minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
during his second term by the Thirteenth Amendment
Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
The XIII Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was a short-time amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, adopted by the elected Parliament of Pakistan in 1997 by the government of people elected Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif...
. It was finally restored during the presidency of Gen. Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf
Pervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
by the Seventeenth Amendment
Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution Act, 2003 was an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed in December 2003, after over a year of political wrangling between supporters and opponents of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf....
. The only democratically elected parliament to fully complete its tenure in the history of Pakistan was from 2003 - 2008, surprisingly under President Pervez Musharraf widely labelled as a dictator in Pakistan. This bill is the first bill since 1973 to decrease the powers of the President.
Impact
292 of the 342 members of the National AssemblyNational Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura, which also compromises the President of Pakistan and Senate . The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad...
, the lower house of Parliament, voted in favour of the amendment, in a vote that was described as historic and shown live on television. The amendment turns the President into a ceremonial head of state
Head of State
A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
and transfers power to the Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Pakistan
The Prime Minister of Pakistan , is the Head of Government of Pakistan who is designated to exercise as the country's Chief Executive. By the Constitution of Pakistan, Pakistan has the parliamentary democratic system of government...
, and removes the limit on a Prime Minister serving more than two terms, opening the way for Nawaz Sharif
Nawaz Sharif
Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
to run again. The North-West Frontier Province
North-West Frontier Province
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country...
is renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in accordance with the wishes of its Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
-majority population. Among other changes, courts will no longer be able to endorse suspensions of the constitution
Constitution of Pakistan
The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the supreme law of Pakistan. Known as the Constitution of 1973, it was drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and, following additions by the opposition parties, was approved by the legislative assembly on April 10, 1973...
, a judicial commission will appoint judges, and the president will no longer be able to appoint the head of the Election Commission. The bill also enhances provincial autonomy. The President will no longer be able to declare emergency rule in any province unilaterally.
Response
Prime minister Yousaf Raza GillaniYousaf Raza Gillani
Yousuf Raza Gilani is the current prime minister of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He was nominated as Prime Minister by the PPP, with the support of its coalition partners, Pakistan Muslim League , Awami National Party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam and Muttahida Qaumi Movement, on 22 March 2008...
, speaking after the passage of the bill, stated that "it is dividend of the politics of reconciliation that the Nation
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
and the Parliament are united today and we have repealed undemocratic laws inserted to Constitution by dictators." An editorial published in Dawn
Dawn (newspaper)
Dawn is Pakistan's oldest and most widely read English-language newspaper. One of the country's two largest English-language dailies, it is the flagship of the Dawn Group of Newspapers, published by Pakistan Herald Publications, which also owns the Herald, a magazine, the evening paper The Star and...
welcomed the amendment and urged to parliament to go further and undo the destructive legacy of General Zia's rule and re-examine the Hudood Ordinance
Hudood Ordinance
The Hudood Ordinance was a law in Pakistan that was enacted in 1979 as part of then-military ruler Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and replaced or revised in 2006 by the Women's Protection Bill....
and Blasphemy law in Pakistan
Blasphemy law in Pakistan
The Pakistan Penal Code prohibits blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. However, in practice, it is only applied to Islam. An accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, and attacks...
. Ahmed Kurd, former president of Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan
Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan
The Supreme Court Bar Association is a legal body comprising the supreme court lawyers in Pakistan. It is currently headed by Asma Jahangir. Ms. Jahangir has been a leading human rights activist and lawyer in South Asia...
, 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."
However violence broke out in the North West Frontier Province's Hazara Division
Hazara Division
On the dissolution of West Pakistan in 1970, Hazara District and the two tribal agencies were merged to form the new Hazara Division with its capital at Abbottabad...
where the Hindko
Hindko language
Hindko , also Hindku, or Hinko, is the sixth main regional language of Pakistan. It forms a subgroup of Indo-Aryan languages spoken by Hindkowans in Pakistan and northern India, some Pashtun tribes in Pakistan, as well as by the Hindki people of Afghanistan...
-speaking population opposed the attempts to rename the province Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.