CSS Pakistan Affairs Constitutional and Political Development of Pakistan Flashcards

24 sample cards from the Constitutional and Political Development of Pakistan deck

Sampled from the end of the deck, so these are different cards from the ones shown on the syllabus page.

1. What form of government and legislature does the 1973 Constitution establish?

   It establishes a federal parliamentary system with a bicameral Parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora): a directly elected National Assembly and an indirectly elected Senate giving equal provincial representation, with a Prime Minister as chief executive and a ceremonial President.

2. What Islamic provisions does the 1973 Constitution contain?

   It declares Islam the state religion, requires both the President and Prime Minister to be Muslims, mandates the Council of Islamic Ideology, and (via the 2nd Amendment, 1974) declared Ahmadis non-Muslims for constitutional purposes.

3. What did the Second Amendment (1974) to the 1973 Constitution do?

   The Second Amendment, passed in September 1974, amended the definition of 'Muslim' and declared the Ahmadi/Qadiani community to be non-Muslims for the purposes of the Constitution and law.

4. How did Bhutto's rule end in 1977?

   The 1977 general elections were alleged to be rigged, sparking the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) movement; amid mounting unrest, General Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Bhutto in a coup (Operation Fair Play) on 5 July 1977.

5. How and when was Z.A. Bhutto executed?

   After being convicted in a controversial murder case (the Nawab Mohammad Ahmad Khan case) and his appeal upheld by the Supreme Court, Bhutto was hanged on 4 April 1979 under Zia-ul-Haq's regime.

6. What were the main features of Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization program?

   Introduction of the Hudood Ordinances (1979), Zakat and Ushr system, interest-free (Islamic) banking measures, Federal Shariat Court, Qisas and Diyat laws, blasphemy law amendments, and Islamization of education and the legal system.

7. What was the Federal Shariat Court established under Zia?

   Established in 1980, the Federal Shariat Court examines whether laws are repugnant to the injunctions of Islam (Quran and Sunnah) and hears appeals in Hudood cases; it can strike down un-Islamic laws.

8. What did the Eighth Amendment (1985) do to the 1973 Constitution?

   Passed under Zia in 1985, it shifted significant power to the President, most notably through Article 58(2)(b), which empowered the President to dissolve the National Assembly at his discretion, undermining parliamentary supremacy.

9. What was the significance of Article 58(2)(b)?

   Inserted by the 8th Amendment, it allowed the President to unilaterally dissolve the National Assembly; it was used repeatedly between 1988 and 1996 to dismiss elected governments, and was finally repealed by the 18th Amendment in 2010 (after partial repeal in 1997).

10. How did Zia-ul-Haq's rule end?

    Zia-ul-Haq, along with several senior generals and the US ambassador, died in a C-130 plane crash near Bahawalpur on 17 August 1988, paving the way for the return of democracy.

11. Describe the political instability of the 'Democratic Decade' (1988-1999).

    Four elected governments (Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif alternating twice) were dismissed before completing their terms, mostly using Article 58(2)(b), reflecting weak institutions, executive-judiciary clashes, and military influence over politics.

12. What did the Thirteenth Amendment (1997) do?

    Passed under Nawaz Sharif in April 1997, the 13th Amendment repealed the President's power under Article 58(2)(b) to dissolve the National Assembly, restoring parliamentary supremacy over the presidency.

13. How did Pervez Musharraf come to power and what was the LFO 2002?

    Musharraf seized power in a coup on 12 October 1999, ousting Nawaz Sharif; his Legal Framework Order (LFO) 2002 amended the Constitution to restore Article 58(2)(b) and create the National Security Council, later legitimized by the 17th Amendment (2003).

14. What was the Doctrine of Necessity in Pakistan's constitutional history?

    A judicial principle, first invoked in Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan's case (1955) and validated in the State vs Dosso case (1958), that allowed courts to legitimize extra-constitutional acts (like martial law and assembly dissolutions) by treating a successful coup as a 'revolution' creating new law.

15. What was the State vs Dosso case (1958) and its impact?

    In State vs Dosso (1958), the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Munir applied Kelsen's theory of 'revolutionary legality' to validate Ayub Khan's martial law, setting a precedent that judicial endorsement could legitimize military takeovers.

16. How did the Asma Jilani case (1972) treat the Doctrine of Necessity?

    In the Asma Jilani case (1972), the Supreme Court reversed Dosso, declaring Yahya Khan a usurper and his martial law illegal, rejecting Kelsen's pure theory and reasserting that a coup-maker has no legal authority.

17. What was the judiciary's role in validating Musharraf's 1999 coup?

    In Zafar Ali Shah vs Pervez Musharraf (2000), the Supreme Court again invoked the doctrine of necessity to validate the 1999 coup, granting Musharraf three years to hold elections and even allowing him to amend the Constitution.

18. What were the key features of the Eighteenth Amendment (2010)?

    It abolished Article 58(2)(b), stripped the President of power to dissolve Parliament, restored full parliamentary democracy, abolished the Concurrent List to devolve subjects to provinces, renamed NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and strengthened provincial autonomy.

19. What is the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and its constitutional basis?

    Under Article 160 of the 1973 Constitution, the NFC Award is a periodic agreement distributing financial resources (the divisible pool of taxes) between the federation and provinces; the 7th NFC Award (2009) notably increased the provinces' share.

20. How does the 1973 Constitution divide legislative powers between the centre and provinces?

    Originally it had a Federal List and a Concurrent List (with residual powers to provinces); the 18th Amendment (2010) abolished the Concurrent List, devolving those subjects to the provinces and leaving only the Federal Legislative List for the centre.

21. What is the Council of Common Interests (CCI) under the 1973 Constitution?

    Established under Article 153-154, the CCI is a constitutional body of federal and provincial representatives that formulates and regulates policies on matters of common interest (like water, power, and major industries) to resolve centre-province disputes.

22. How does the Senate of Pakistan promote federalism?

    The Senate gives each province equal representation regardless of population, balancing the population-based National Assembly so smaller provinces have a stronger voice; it is a permanent house with members serving six-year staggered terms.

23. Summarize the pattern of civil-military relations in Pakistan's constitutional history.

    Pakistan has experienced repeated military interventions (1958 Ayub, 1969 Yahya, 1977 Zia, 1999 Musharraf), each suspending or amending constitutions, often validated by the judiciary's doctrine of necessity, producing a recurring cycle of military rule alternating with weak civilian governments.

24. Compare the system of government in the 1956, 1962, and 1973 Constitutions.

    The 1956 Constitution established a parliamentary system; the 1962 Constitution established a presidential system with a strong President; and the 1973 Constitution established a federal parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature, which endures today.

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