Pakistan has many ups and downs in its political history. The country had three constitutions. The 1956 constitution was parliamentary in nature. Then, Ayyub Khan abrogated this constitution and introduced the 1962 constitution which was Presidential in nature. Then after the separation of East Pakistan, the 1973 constitution was adopted. First Zia ul Haq and then Pervaiz Musharraf severely altered this constitution to accommodate their rule according to the constitution. When democracy was restored in 2008, the 18th amendment in the constitution of Pakistan was introduced in 2010.
This amendment is the most significant one in history which truly made Pakistan a true parliamentary state. What is this amendment and how it impacted Pakistan? Read the article to find the answer.
18th Amendment in Pakistan’s Constitution Explained:
Democratic government in 2008 vowed to restore the constitution in its true spirit. Therefore, the media reported the adoption of the motion to restore Parliament’s supremacy by the National assembly on 10 April 2009 and by Senate on 29 April 2009. In pursuance of this, a special committee, also known as Parliamentary Committee, was formed.
Parliamentary Committee:
Speaker of National Assembly constituted parliamentary committee. This committee consisted of 27 members from all parties. Senator Mian Raza Rabbani became the chairman of this special (parliamentary) committee.
The special committee’s purpose was to frame and introduce new constitutional amendments. The total meetings this committee had was 77 which took a total of 385 hours.
The committee asked its members to formulate the constitutional amendments by 10 August 2009. In the meantime, the committee also invited other intellectuals to submit their proposals by the 10th of August.
How many Articles were amended?
The parliamentary committee suggested amending 97 articles of the constitution. The proposed amendment bill contained all these amendments. There was a consensus on all these amendments by all parties.
18th amendment Passing date:
On 19 April 2010, President Zardari gave assent to the amendment Bill. This amendment is the most significant and comprehensive constitutional alteration since the adoption of the 1973 constitution.
(See License Details of this image Here)
Important amendments under the 18th Amendment in Pakistan’s constitution?
It amended, omitted, and annexed the Third, fourth, Sixth, and seventh schedules in the constitution.
The main features/ characteristics/ key points of the 18th amendment in the constitution of Pakistan are:
1) The 17th amendment made by Pervaiz Musharraf was annulled.
2) Omission of Article 58-2(b) from the constitution. This clause allowed Presidents to dissolve the government and national assembly whenever they feel like it. This made Pakistan a true Parliamentary state.
3) Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) was renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
6) Concurrent list is a list in which if both Federal and provincial governments legislate, the federal government will outweigh provincial legislation. In this amendment, the abolishment of the Concurrent List took place.
7) It introduced Improvements in Financial dealings between the Central government and Provincial government.
a) The federal government would have to consult the provincial government before constructing a hydroelectric power plant in that province (Article 157).
b) The share of any province in the National Finance Commission (NFC) would not be less than the share of that province in the previous award.
c) Federal excise duty on oil and natural gas to be distributed between both central government and that province where these would be extracted.
8) “Party Heads” got the power to remove any member of the parliament from that party whenever they want to (Article 63A). Before that, the parliamentary leaders used to remove parliamentarians.
9) It became compulsory to form CCI within 30 days of the Prime Minister taking the oath. Also, CCI would meet after 90 days to oversee projects.
10) Removal of Zia ul Haq’s name from Article 270 (A).
11) Alteration (Changing) in the Appointment procedure of Supreme court and high courts Judges.
12) Chief Election commissioner appointment can only be made after the consultation with the opposition leader.
Significance of 18th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan:
It is surely the most significant amendment in the Pakistani constitution ever.
1) For the first time, the President of Pakistan transferred all the vested powers to the PM- which is the most important thing in the Parliamentary system.
2) Pakistani political system attained Federalism spirit due to this. Provinces acquired autonomy and the central government devolved some of its duties. Similarly, Parliament also voted to abolish the Concurrent list. This further empowered provincial assemblies and provinces were able to make their own laws according to their needs.
3) This amendment will help reduce the grievances of Balochistan and Interior Sindh. How? Due to the financial devolution. Now both of these get funds from the central government. Central government shares revenues of minerals extracted from the, as well.
4) People saw Efforts to improve The Judiciary system of Pakistan in this amendment. The appointment of the Supreme court and high court judges is now more transparent. Moreover, Islamabad high court revival took place as well in 2010.
5) Any problem or objections among the provinces or between a province and central government would be resolved in the Council of Common Interests. Thus, smooth administration became easy.
6) It limited Presidential powers as the abolishment of 58-2(b) happened. Due to this, President’s role returned to being only Titular head.
Limitations on Presidential Powers due to the 18th Amendment:
Following are the limitations on President after this amendment:
1) President now cannot dissolve Parliament unless Prime Minister requests him. The notorious article 58 2(B) gave such powers to the president.
2) It limited the amount of time a President can take to sign any bill (Article 75).
3) President has to consult the outgoing Prime minister about the caretaker government.
4) President can no longer appoint Chief Election Commissioner on his own. Now, the appointment of the Chief Election Commission can only be made after the consultation of government and opposition.
5) President can no longer impose an emergency in any province whenever he feels like it.
Critical Analysis of the 18th amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan:
here are have been Debates and analyses on this amendment since 2010. Some of the most critical analyses are:
1) Provinces took over many important departments like Education, police, health, etc. Critics rightfully criticize those provinces neither had any capacity nor manpower to handle these departments. Hence, the administration was difficult.
2) Issues of regional languages like Sindhi, Pushto, Seraiki, etc. stayed the same with no solutions.
3) Party head enjoys important powers because of this amendment. If the Party head wants, he can remove any person from the membership of parliament. This is undemocratic in nature.
4) Parties that wanted devolution showed hypocrisy when they refused to give powers to local governments. This amendment should have involved the term and stability of local government systems. No devolution is possible without giving powers to local governments.
5) An important analysis is that due to financial sharing, the central government receives little money. Thus, the central government can’t spend more money on important subjects. So, this has left a weak central government.
6) Provinces have become more powerful due to this. But all provinces are not equal. Punjab is richer than Balochistan. So, there is a chance that it could also flame the curse of provincialism.
7) Due to this amendment, Minorites are enjoying political rights. Giving them rights was a step in the right direction.
Post 18th Amendment Scenario (The impact on Institutions):
This amendment has greatly impacted Pakistani institutions. Check out the impact:
1) The election commission of Pakistan is stable and to some extent secure now. How? With the fixation of tenure of Chief Election Commissioner and its members and codification of Procedures of their removal, mode of appointment, and remuneration.
2) Due to this, the Judicial system of Pakistan has improved. Now, consultations for the appointment of the High court and Supreme Court judges are mandatory.
3) Senate of Pakistan was strengthened by adding 4 additional seats of minorities.
4) Parliament of Pakistan was strengthened due to curtailment in Presidential powers. Thus, the parliamentary system in Pakistan is now strong because of this amendment. This has made the political system of Pakistan stable.
5) Council of Common Interests resolves disputes and smoothens the administration frictions. It also approves important Projects. For example, the Council of Common Interests approved the Diamer-Bhasha dam.
Conclusion:
There is no doubt that the 18th amendment in the constitution of Pakistan is the most historic political occasion after the adoption of the 1973 constitution. Amendments in 97 Articles took place. There is no denying that it has enormous significance but there are still criticisms over this. However, removal of deficiencies should be the heart of discussion rather than scrapping of this amendment.
What do you think about the 18th amendment? Let us know in the comment section!
Also Read: Presidential vs Parliamentary system: Which suits Pakistan?
