compulsory · CSS study notes
Ch13. Constitution of Pakistan 1973
📂 START HERE — How This Page Is Organised
No child pages here — read the sections below in order.
📺 Directly Relevant YouTube Lecture Sources
- 1973 Constitution — Salient Features — 1973 Constitution: salient features (main lecture)
- Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Era (1971–1977) — Bhutto era: how it was framed
- 8th Constitutional Amendment (1985) — 8th Amendment
- 18th Constitutional Amendment (2010) — Dedicated Deep-Dive — 18th Amendment
📖 What to learn in order
- Background & Making
- Salient/Silent Features
- Survival Despite Repeated Suspension
- Key Amendments — The Presidential-Parliamentary Pendulum
- Comparison Snapshot: 1956 vs 1962 vs 1973
- CSS Answer Structure for "Discuss the salient features of the 1973 Constitution"
- Exam Angle
CSS answer alignment: connect the note to the question's command word, dates, causal explanation and alternative view. Review actual papers before practice questions.
Background & Making
- Passed 10 April 1973; in force 14 August 1973.
- First constitution framed by a directly elected assembly (1970) with real consensus — 125 of 130 members present voted for it.
- Drafted under Z.A. Bhutto after the 1971 break-up.
- Aimed to rebuild federal trust after the One Unit and parity failures.
- Built on the 1972 interim constitution, with opposition input through a multi-party committee (Mahmud Ali Kasuri).
Salient Features
- Federal parliamentary system
- PM is the chief executive
- President is ceremonial (in the original form; later amendments changed this)
- Bicameral legislature
- National Assembly: directly elected, stronger (money bills, no-confidence)
- Senate: equal provincial representation, a voice for small provinces
- Written and rigid
- amendment needs a two-thirds majority in both houses (Art. 239)
- Islamic provisions
- Islam the state religion (Art. 2)
- Objectives Resolution made substantive as Art. 2-A (8th Amendment, 1985)
- Council of Islamic Ideology (advisory)
- laws must conform to the Quran and Sunnah (Art. 227)
- President and PM must be Muslims
- Fundamental rights (Art. 8–28)
- enforceable through courts
- equality; freedom of speech, assembly and religion; due process
- Independent judiciary
- Supreme Court and High Courts with judicial review
- Federal structure
- Federal and Concurrent Lists (Concurrent List abolished by the 18th Amendment, 2010)
- CCI and NFC — federal–provincial coordination on policy and resources
- Emergency provisions (Art. 232–237) — war, internal disturbance, financial emergency
Survival Despite Repeated Suspension
- Never abrogated (unlike 1956 and 1962) — only held in abeyance:
- Zia (1977–85), restored with the 8th Amendment
- Musharraf (1999–2002), restored with the 17th Amendment
- Each restoration reshaped the President–PM balance.
- Its survival despite distortion is a major exam theme: "the resilience of 1973".
Key Amendments — The Presidential-Parliamentary Pendulum
| Amendment | Year | Regime | Key Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st-7th | 1974-77 | Bhutto | Minor/procedural; FSF, defection clause, etc. |
| 8th | 1985 | Zia | Article 58(2)(b) — President's power to dissolve NA unilaterally; Art. 2A (Objectives Resolution substantive); indemnified martial law acts |
| 13th | 1997 | Nawaz II | Repealed 58(2)(b) — restored PM supremacy |
| 14th | 1997 | Nawaz II | Anti-defection clause strengthened |
| 17th | 2003 | Musharraf | Restored 58(2)(b)-like presidential powers; indemnified Musharraf's actions; Legal Framework Order incorporated |
| 18th | 2010 | PPP coalition | Landmark — removed 58(2)(b) permanently; abolished Concurrent List (major provincial autonomy); renamed NWFP→KP; Judicial Commission for judges' appointments; PM's powers over caretaker govt, service chiefs appointments |
| 19th | 2010 | PPP coalition | Adjusted judges' appointment process (Parliamentary Committee review role) after SC objections to 18th Amendment's JC composition |
| 20th | 2012 | PPP coalition | Neutral caretaker government/ECP appointment mechanism for free elections |
| 21st | 2015 | PML-N | Allowed military courts to try civilians for terrorism (2-year sunset clause, post-APS Peshawar attack) |
| 25th | 2018 | PML-N | Merged FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, abolishing separate tribal-area (FCR) status |
| 26th | 2024 | PML-N/PPP coalition | Constitutional Benches in SC/HCs; changed CJP appointment (parliamentary committee picks from 3 senior-most judges, diluting strict seniority principle); fixed 3-year CJP term |
| 27th | 2025 | PML-N/PPP coalition | Federal Constitutional Court (184(3) moved to it); Chief of Defence Forces post; lifetime rank for Field Marshal; changes to judicial appointments |
Comparison Snapshot: 1956 vs 1962 vs 1973
| Feature | 1956 | 1962 | 1973 |
|---|---|---|---|
| System | Parliamentary | Presidential | Parliamentary |
| Legislature | Unicameral | Unicameral | Bicameral |
| Executive | PM (real power) | President (real power) | PM (real power) |
| Longevity | 2 years | 7 years | Still in force (54+ years) |
| Election basis | Adult franchise (indirect for some) | Basic Democracies (indirect) | Adult franchise (direct) |
CSS Answer Structure for "Discuss the salient features of the 1973 Constitution"
- Brief background (why/when framed, consensus achievement)
- Salient features grouped: structural (federal/bicameral), rights-based, Islamic provisions, federalism mechanisms (CCI/NFC)
- Resilience despite suspensions — unique compared to 1956/1962
- Amendment trajectory — pendulum framing (civil-military tug of war)
- Conclusion: living document, continuously evolving (26th Amendment as most recent example)
Exam Angle
- Highest-yield frame: the pendulum between presidential and parliamentary power (8th → 13th → 17th → 18th).
- Use it in any 1973 or civil-military question.
- Learn the 18th, 26th and 27th Amendments in detail — the most tested in recent papers.