2.2 Constitutional Development

📂 START HERE — Actual Subpages in Study Order

Open the six linked lessons below in this order. Past papers and MCQs follow at the end.

---

Constitutions of 1956, 1962 and 1973, key amendments (especially the 18th), federal–provincial relations and the NFC.

---

📺 Directly Relevant YouTube Lecture Sources

Lecture index: YouTube — Post Partition Notes

• 1956 Constitution & Its Failure (1956–1958) — 1956 Constitution and why it failed
• 1962 Constitution & Comparison with 1956 — 1962 Constitution compared with 1956
• 1973 Constitution — Salient Features — 1973 Constitution: salient features
• 8th Constitutional Amendment (1985) — 8th Amendment (1985)
• 18th Constitutional Amendment (2010) — Dedicated Deep-Dive — 18th Amendment deep-dive
• Provincial Autonomy — Devolution of Power under the 18th Amendment — provincial autonomy under the 18th
• 7th National Finance Commission Award — Salient Features and Analysis — 7th NFC Award

20-mark expansion:

• Show the pendulum: parliamentary (1956) → presidential (1962) → parliamentary (1973) → presidential tilt (8th, 17th) → parliamentary again (13th, 18th).
• Separate legislative devolution (18th) from revenue sharing (NFC).
• Compare what the text says with how it was implemented.

---

📝 CSS Past Papers 2014–2026 — 2.2 Constitutional Development

📊

Asked so far:

• 3 subjective questions on centre–province relations and the 18th Amendment (2018, 2019, 2022)
• 8 MCQs

Full answers are on chapter page XXVII (in 2.4) and in the solved year papers.

Part-I — Past MCQs

1. (CSS 2016) The 21st Amendment (2015) was passed to:

• (A) Abolish the Concurrent List
• (B) Establish military courts
• (C) Merge FATA
• (D) Restore 1973
• ✅ (B) Establish military courts — after the APS attack; extended by the 23rd (2017).

2. (CSS 2017) The National Assembly passed the 18th Amendment on:

• (A) 19 Apr
• (B) 8 Apr
• (C) 15 Apr
• (D) 31 March 2010
• ✅ (B) 8 April 2010 — Senate 15 April, assent 19 April.

3. (CSS 2020) The 18th Amendment received presidential assent on:

• (A) 8 Apr
• (B) 15 Apr
• (C) 19 Apr 2010
• (D) 1 July 2011
• ✅ (C) 19 April 2010.

4. (CSS 2021) Members of the Parliamentary Committee that drafted the 18th Amendment:

• (A) 26
• (B) 22
• (C) 30
• (D) 18
• ✅ (A) 26 — chaired by Raza Rabbani; about 102 articles changed.

5. (CSS 2020) FATA merged into KP through the:

• (A) 24th
• (B) 25th
• (C) 26th
• (D) 23rd Amendment
• ✅ (B) 25th Amendment (May 2018) — FCR ended, Article 247 repealed.

6. (CSS 2023) Supreme command of the armed forces vests in the:

• (A) PM
• (B) COAS
• (C) President
• (D) CJCSC
• ✅ (C) President — Article 243(2); control and command lie with the Federal Government (243(1)).

7. (CSS 2024) Years as a High Court judge needed to become a Supreme Court judge:

• (A) 5
• (B) 7
• (C) 9
• (D) 15
• ✅ (A) Five — Article 177(2); or 15 years as an advocate.

8. (CSS 2025) Minimum age for a Senate candidate:

• (A) 30
• (B) 35
• (C) 25
• (D) None
• ✅ (A) 30 — Article 62(1)(b); NA 25, President 45.

Part-II — Past Subjective Questions

1. CSS 2018 Q6 — Discuss the nature of centre-province relations under the 1973 Constitution. (20)

Outline

1. Introduction
2. Legislative relations
3. Administrative relations
4. Financial relations
5. Coordination institutions
6. Emergency provisions
7. Problems
8. Conclusion

Key points

• Legislative: Federal Legislative List; Concurrent List abolished (2010); residual powers (Art. 142); Art. 143
• Administrative: Art. 148 and 149
• Financial: NFC (Art. 160, 160(3A), 57.5% provincial share); resource rights (Art. 158, 161, 172(3))
• Coordination: CCI (Art. 153–154, meets every 90 days), NEC (Art. 156), equal Senate seats (Art. 59)
• Emergencies: Art. 232 and 234
• Problems: Punjab's dominance, delayed NFC, irregular CCI meetings, water disputes, Balochistan, fears over the 27th Amendment

Verdict: a shift from a strong centre to cooperative federalism; implementation is what matters now.

Full answer: CSS 2018 — Pakistan Affairs Paper (Solved)

2. CSS 2019 Q3 — How far have centre-province relations changed under amendments to the 1973 Constitution? (20)

Outline

1. Introduction
2. Original 1973 scheme
3. 8th Amendment
4. 13th Amendment
5. 17th Amendment
6. 18th Amendment and 7th NFC
7. 25th Amendment
8. 26th and 27th Amendments
9. Evaluation
10. Conclusion

Key points

• 1973: a strong centre
• 8th (1985): 58-2(b) and 112(2)(b), used in 1988, 1990, 1993 and 1996
• 13th (1997): removed those powers; 17th (2003): restored them
• 18th (2010): Concurrent List abolished, 17 ministries devolved, CCI secretariat, 172(3), 140-A, KP renamed
• 7th NFC: provincial share raised from 47.5% to 57.5%
• 25th: FATA merged; 27th: reopened some devolved subjects

Verdict: the 18th Amendment was the turning point; consensus-based federalism protects unity.

Full answer: CSS 2019 — Pakistan Affairs Paper (Solved)

3. CSS 2022 Q3 — Federal structure after the 18th Amendment. Why has criticism of it started recently? (20)

Outline

1. Introduction
2. Federal structure after the 18th
3. Benefits
4. Why criticism grew
5. Response to criticism
6. Way forward
7. Conclusion

Key points

• Structure: Concurrent List gone; CCI supervises Part II subjects; Articles 160(3A), 172(3), 157, 140-A, 25-A
• Benefits: provincial autonomy, ownership, consensus, room for provincial innovation
• Criticism: federal fiscal squeeze (debt, defence), weak provincial capacity, fragmented standards
• More criticism: Covid coordination, provinces blocking local government, political push for revision
• Response: the problem is implementation; raise taxes rather than cut the provincial share

Verdict: improve it through the CCI and a new NFC — don't roll it back.

Full answer: CSS 2022 — Pakistan Affairs Paper (Solved)