Constitution Of 1956

Outline:

• Background
• Salient Features Of Constitution Of 1956
i) Preamble
ii) Written Constitution
iii) Semi-rigid Constitution
iv) Federal System
v) Unicameral Legislature
vi) Parliamentary System
vii) Independent Judiciary
viii) Basic Rights
ix) National Language
x) Islamic Provisions Of The Constitution Of 1956
• Critical Analysis/Drawbacks Of The constitution
• Causes Of The Failure Of The Constitution

Background:

Chaudary Mohammad Ali was a sincere politician and an experienced parliamentarian. He

took personal interests in the constitution-making process. He presented the draft of the
first Constitution of Pakistan in the second assembly. It was approved by the assembly on
29th February, 1956. Then this draft was sent to the Governor-General Major-General
Iskander Mirza who ratified it on 2nd March, 1956. Thus, the first constitution of Pakistan
was formed nine years after the independence of the nation. Finally, the first constitution
was enforced on 23rd March, 1956 and Pakistan was declared as Republic.

Salient Features Of The Constitution Of 1956:

i) Preamble:

Objective Resolution was made a part of the constitution of 1956 which declared that the all
sovereignty belonged to Allah.

ii) Written Constitution

The Constitution of 1956 was a written document. It consisted of 234 Articles, 13 Parts and
6 Schedules.

iii) Semi-rigid Constitution:

The constitution could be amended through a process requiring the amendment to be passed by at least
a two-thirds majority of the parliament. However, the president had the right to veto the draft. Which
then could be overridden by 2/3rd parliamentary majority.

iv) Federal System:

The Constitution of 1956 provided a federal system in the country which consisted of the
following institutions:
a) The President
b) The Government
c) The Parliament

a) President:

According to the constitution of 1956, President was the head of the State. He was a
Muslim, of above 40yrs of age, who was elected by the National Assembly and all the four
provincial assemblies by a majority vote for a period of five years. The president was
required by the constitution ‘to act in accordance with the advice of the cabinet’ He enjoyed
the following powers:

• Most imp discretionary power- To appoint PM from the members of NA.

• He could appoint the provincial governors, judges of Supreme and High Courts, Auditor
General and Advocate General.
• He would constitute the National economic council, NFC, IPC, commission for brining
existing laws in conformity with Islamic injunctions, and organization of Islamic research.
• He could summon, progogue, and dissolve the NA on cabinet’s advice.

• He was authorized to promulgate ordinance during the period when the National Assembly
was not in session.
• He was authorized to reduce or condone the punishment given by the Courts.
• He could declare emergency in the country + suspend prov. govt.

b) Federal Government:
1956 constitution embodied all the characteristics of a federation- Written constitution +
dual polity +distribution of powers between center and provinces + supreme court
Three lists- 1) Federal list 30 subjects 2) provincial list 94 subjects 3) concurrent list 19 4)
residuary powers given to provinces
CJP was assigned an imp role- to settle disputes between fed govt and one or both prov
govts or between two prov govts
There was also a provision for Inter provincial council IPC
No provision whereby the federal legislature could make laws in any provincial matters on
the grounds of national interest
But, NA could legislate on any matter if prov legislature authorized it + in case of
emergency NA was empowered to make laws for a province.

c) The Parliament:

The constitution of 1956 provided a unicameral legislature called the National Assembly
which consisted of 300 members. Out of these, 150 members were elected from East
Pakistan and 150 from West Pakistan. It enjoyed full authority over the federal list of
subjects. It was compulsory to call two sessions of the assembly in a year one to be held in
Decca while the other was to be convened in Karachi.

v) Independence Of Judiciary:

the constitution of 1956 established an independent judiciary so that ‘justice could be

dispensed in Pakistan in a real and unpolluted form’ which consisted of the following Courts:

a) The Supreme Court

b) The High Courts (One each in East and West Pakistan)
c) The Lower Courts.

The Supreme Court was the highest court of the country. It not only heard appeals from the
Lower Courts but also interpreted the Constitution at the request of Federal or the Provincial
authorities. Similarly, two High Courts were established in Decca and Karachi. Judges of
these courts were appointed by the President of Pakistan in consultation with the CJ. CJ to
be appointed by the president.

vi) Basic Rights:

The Constitution of 1956 provided the following Basic Rights to Its people irrespective of
religion, caste or creeds.

a) Equality of all citizens before the law

b) No person could be deprived of life or liberty
c) No person could be punished for an act which was not punishable when committed
d) Right to apply for a habeas corpus could not be suspended (except in case of threat to
the security or other grave emergency
e) No discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth
f) All forms of slavery, servitude, forced labour, torture, or cruel or inhuman treatment or
punishment were declared illegal
g) All duly qualified citizens were made eligible for appointment to the service of the state,
irrespective of religion, race, caste, sex, descent or place of birth
h) No person could be deprived of his property without adequate compensation
i) All citizens were guaranteed
freedom of expression, speech, association, occupation, acquisition and disposal of
property, and peaceful assembly + right to move freely throughout Pakistan and reside
anywhere.
j) Freedom of conscience and the right to profess, practice, and propagate any religion,
subject to public order and morality, were guaranteed.
k) The notion of untouchability being inconsistent with human dignity, its practice was
declared unlawful.

vii) National Language:

Both Urdu and Bengali were grated the status of national languages. However, it was
decided that English would be the official language for 25 years.

viii) Islamic Provision Of The Constitution:

The Constitution of 1956 included the following Islamic Provisions:

a) According to the Constitution of 1956, the country was named as “Islamic Republic Of
Pakistan.”

b) The Objective Resolution was made a part of it which declared that Sovereignty of the
universe belonged to Almighty Allah.
c) According to Article 32, the President of Pakistan would be a Muslim and of 40 years of
age.
d) Article 18, provided that the all citizens would be free to profess and practice their
religion.
e) The constitution put a ban on liquor, gambling and prostitution.
f) According to Article 198, no un-Islamic law would be enacted in Pakistan.
 Whether a law was repugnant to Islam or not, would be decided by the National
Assembly.
g) The state should endeavor to strengthen the bonds of unity among Muslim countries.
h) The president should set up an organization for Islamic research and instruction in
advanced studies to assist in the reconstruction of Muslims society on a truly Islamic basis.
i) Teaching of the Quran was to be made compulsory for Muslims.
J) No person should be compelled to pay any special tax, the proceeds of which were to be
spent on the propagation of any religion than his own.

Critical Analysis/Drawbacks Of The Constitution Of 1956:

The Constitution of 1956 was a great achievement but it was also criticized for its some
flaws. We can pinpoint some of them as following:

i) Absence Of Islamic Provisions:

No provisions were made to make Islam as a state religion.

ii) Head Of A State:

In the absence of the President, the speaker of the National assembly might be acting
president and a speaker might be a non-Muslim. In other words, Head of the state could be
a non-Muslim.

iii) Authority Delegated To The People:

According to the Constitution, the authority was delegated to the people of Pakistan and the
people of Pakistan could be Muslims and non-Muslims.

iv) Interpretation Of Quran And Sunnah:

Interpretation of the Quran and Sunnah was referred to the legislature rather than
theologians. Hussain Shaheed Suharwardi said,” you are deluding the people by calling it an
Islamic State.”

v) Response Of East Pakistan:

The people of East Pakistan were not happy with this constitution because they were
demanding their share in the government according to their population because their
population was more than that of West Pakistan. Moreover, they were demanding to declare
the religion of the State as Islam. But the rulers of the day were not inclined to do. General
Iskander Mirza said, “We cannot run wild on Islam.” So these controversies gave rise
political and constitutional problems in the country and ultimately paved the way for military
intervention.

Causes Of Failure Of The Constitution:

The Constitution of 1956 was abrogated in 1958. The causes of its failure were as under:

a) The multi-party system was one of the main causes of its failure.
b) General elections were not held up to 1956. Consequently, the parliamentary system did
not strike roots in country.

c) The politicians were insincere and preferred their personal interests over national
interests.

d) The eleven-year period from 1947 to 1958 was a period of political instability which
witnessed the rise and fall of nine prime ministers. These circumstances were not conducive
to democracy which was a hallmark of the constitution of 1956.

e) The constitution was modelled on the One Unit of West Pakistan.

Opponents of the One Unit created hatred against the Constitution.

f) Irresponsible and unpatriotic acts of Ghulam Mohammad destabilized the democratic

process. He did not hesitate to dissolve the First Constituent Assembly. Similarly, the
Federal Court was pressurized to give verdict against the Sindh High Court which was a
mockery of democracy. Later on, Iskander mirza promoted the palace intrigues which led to
frequent rise and fall of ministries.

g) In the early fifties, the political, geographical, military and administrative problems of
Pakistan brought economic depression in the country. These circumstances led to
unemployment, bribery, hoarding and dearness. The politicians exploited the situation at
the cost of democratic values. Thus, people lost faith in the constitution of 1956.

h) At the time of Independence, Pakistan did not inherit any constitutional traditions
because it had yet to frame its own constitution which suited its particular Islamic and
democratic requirements. As an interim arrangement, the government Of India Act, 1935
was enforced with certain amendments. Subsequently, the First Constituent Assembly took
nine years to give to the country its first constitution in 1956. The selfish politicians did not
miss any opportunity to damage the image of democracy. The ministries continued to fall
like nine pins even after the enforcement of the constitution of 1956. These circumstances
convinced the military regimes that the Constitution of 1956 was incapable of meeting the
challenges of the day.