First Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

The I Amendment (First Amendment) to the Constitution of Pakistan, is a part of the Constitution of Pakistan which came on effect on May 4th of 1974. The official document of the First Amendment is called the Constitution (First Amendment), 1974. The I Amendment redefined the international and provisional boundaries, federal treaties of Pakistan, and naval treaties of Pakistan. The I Amendment eliminates and removed the references of East-Pakistan after the recognition of Bangladesh. The I Amendment amended articles 1, 8, 17, 61, 101, 193, 199, 200, 209, 212, 250, 260 and 272, and the First Schedule of the Constitution of Pakistan.

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The territories and boundaries of Pakistan shall comprise

The Province of Baluchistan, the North-West Frontier, the Punjab and Sindh ; The Islamabad Capital Territory, hereinafter referred to as the Federal Capital ; The Federally Administered Tribal Areas; and Such States and territories as are or may be included in Pakistan, whether by accession or otherwise. Parliament may by law admit into the Federation new States or areas on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.

Second Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The II Amendment (Second Amendment) to the Constitution of Pakistan became a part of Constitution of Pakistan on September 7, 1974.[1] The II Amendment declared the religious status of Ahmadis as minority and as 'non-muslim'.[1] After it became a law, the II Amendment led to

the widespread violent attacks upon the community which bordered on genocide, many members of the community had to go into exile. [1]

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A person who does not believe in the absolute and unqualified finality of The Prophethood of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the last of the Prophets or claims to be a Prophet, in any sense of the word or of any description whatsoever, after Muhammad (Peace be upon him), or recognizes such a claimant as a Prophet or religious reformer, is not a Muslim for the purposes of the Constitution or law.

Third Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The III (Third Amendment) Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan is an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan went effective on 18th February 18, 1975, under the Government of elected Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto an amendment to the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan[1] The amendment extend the period of preventive detention, of those who are accused of committing serious cases of treason and espionage against the state of Pakistan, are also under trial by the government of Pakistan.[1] The III Amendment protect against the abuse of government authority in legal procedure, and extended the investigation period from one month to three month.[1]

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1 Text 2 References 3 External links 4 References

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In clause (4), for the words "one month" twice occurring the words "three months" shall be substituted. In clause (5) for the words and comma "as soon as may be, but not latter than one week", the words "within fifteen days" shall be substituted. In clause (7), in the proviso, after the word "enemy", the commas and words, or "who is acting or attempting to act in a manner prejudicial to the integrity, security of defense of Pakistan or any part thereof or who commits or attempt to commit any act which amounts to an anti-national activity as defined in a Federal Law or is a member of any association which has for its object, or which indulges him, any such antinational activity" shall be added.[1]

Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Fourth amendment to the constitution of pakistan) The IV Amendment (Fourth Amendment) to the Constitution of Pakistan, is an amendment that became part of the Constitution of Pakistan on November 21, 1975, under the Government of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.[1] The IV Amendment decreed the seats for minorities and non-Muslims representation to the government of Pakistan and the Parliament of Pakistan, to protect the minority rights in the country.[1] The IV Amendment also deprived courts of the power to grant bail to any accused or innocent [person] until proven guilty under any preventive detention.[1] The IV Amendment protect the rights of Minorities in the country, and also protect the rights of accused [person] until proven guilty from the police brutality during the subsequent investigations.[1]

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IV Amendment, Article VIII of the Constitution:In clause (3), for paragraph (b) the following shall be substituted, namely laws specified in the First Schedule as in force immediately before the commencing day or as amended by any of the laws specified in that schedule; (ii) other laws specified in Part I of the "First Schedule"; (c)(sic) in clause (4), for the words and commas "the First Schedule, not being a law which relates to, or is connected with, economic reforms," the words and figure "Part

II of the First Schedule" shall be substituted.[1] IV Amendment of Article XVII of the Constitution: In the Constitution, in Article 17, in clause (1), for the words "morality or public order" the words "sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan, public order or morality" shall be substituted.[1] IV Amendment of Article 199 of the Constitution. :A High Court shall not make an order until proven guilty; prohibiting the making of an order for the detention of a person, or for the grant of bail to a person detained, under any law providing for preventive detention.[1] VI Amendment of Article 51 (LI) of the Constitution:. (2-A) In addition to the number of seats referred to in clause (1), there shall be in the National Assembly six additional seats reserved for the persons, who are not exclusively Muslims. As soon as practicable after the general election to the National Assembly, the members to fill seats reserved in that Assembly for the persons referred to in clause (2-A) shall be elected in accordance with law by the members of the Assembly referred to in clause (1)".[1]

Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The V Amendment (Fifth Amendment) to the Constitution of Pakistan was adopted in September 5th of 1976, by the elected Parliament of Pakistan under the democratic government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.[1] The V Amendment widen the scope of restriction on the Pakistan High Courts to strip powers of the the High Courts to enforce the grants of natural fundamental rights explained in Chapter I, Part II of the Constitution.[1] This amendment also imposed the import and sales tax on the consumer product.[1] V Amendment also restricted the eligibility of the Governor or the Chief minister of those who are not from the provinces in which they have fought the elections for the respected offices.[1] V Amendment also set the maximum age of the CHief Justice as well as the term of serving the respected office.[1]

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V Amendment, Article 101 of the Constitution: Provided that, after the holding of the first general election to the National Assembly, a person shall not be appointed to be the Governor of the Province of which he is a permanent resident. V Amendment, Article 160 of the Constitution: Taxes are imposed on the sales

and purchases of goods imported, exported, produced, manufactured or consumed. V Amendment,f Article 179 of the Constitution: The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, whether appointed before or after the commencement of the Constitution (Fifth Amendment, shall, unless he sooner attains the age of sixty-five years, hold office for a term of five years and shall thereafter have the option either to retire from his office and receive the pension to which he would have been entitled if he had retired from office on attaining the age of sixty-five years; or to assume the office of the most senior of the other Judges of the Supreme Court and to continue to receive the same salary which he was receiving while holding the office of Chief Justice. V Amendment, Article 192 of the Constitution. : The Sind and Baluchistan High Court shall cease to function as a common High Court for the Provinces of Baluchistan and Sind. The President shall , by Order, establish a High Court for each of the Provinces of Baluchistan and Sind and may make such provision in the order of the principal seats of the two High Courts, transfer of the Judges of the common High Court, transfer of cases pending in the common High Court immediately before the establishment of the two High Courts and, generally, for matters consequential or ancillary to the common High Court ceasing to function and the establishment of the two High Courts as he may deem fit."

Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The VI Amendment (Sixth Amendment) to the Constitution of Pakistan, was adopted by the elected Parliament of Pakistan on December 22, 1976, under the government of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.[1] The VI Amendment stated that Chief Justice of Supreme Court will be retired at the age of 65 and a High Court honorable judge shall be retired at the age of 62.[1]

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Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who attains the age of sixty-five years before he has held that office for a term of five years may continue to hold that office until he has completed that term. Chief justice of the High Court who attains the age of sixty-two years

before he has held that office for a term of five years may continue to hold that office until he has completed that term.[1]

Seventh Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The VII Amendment (Seventh Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan) was adopted by the elected Parliament of Pakistan in 16th May, 1977, a month before the ending of ending of the democratic government of Prime minister Zulfikar Bhutto.[1] The VII Amendment was also the last of seven amendments that were adopted the elected Parliament and enforced by the Government of Prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.[1] The VII Amendment orders and enables the people elected Prime Minister to obtain a Vote of confidence by the people elected members of Parliament.[1] The VII Amendment also constitutionally orders the people elected President to hold a national referendum for the approval of Prime minister if he or she fails to secured the vote of confidence ob the members of Parliament.[1]

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If at any time the Prime Minister considers it necessary to obtain a vote of confidence of the people of Pakistan through a referendum, he may advise the President to cause matter to be referred to a referendum in accordance with law made by Parliament. The President shall call upon the Referendum Commission to conduct a referendum amongst the persons whose names appear on the electoral rolls for the immediately preceding general elections to the National Assembly as revised up-to-date. Any dispute arising in connection with the counting of votes at referendum shall be finally determined by the Referendum Commission or a member thereof authorized by it and, save as aforesaid, no dispute arising in connection with a referendum or the result thereof shall be raised or permitted to be raised before any court or other authority whatsoever. If, on the final count of the votes cast at the referendum, the Prime Minister fails to secure majority of the total votes cast in the matter of the confidence of the people of Pakistan, he shall be deemed to have tendered his resignation.[1]

Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The VIII Amendment (Eighth Amendment) to the Constitution of Pakistan, was short-time amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan, which was passed by the Majlis-e-Shoora, in the absence of elected Parliament of Pakistan, in 1985. The VIII Amendment was drafted and later enforced by the joint Technocratic-Military government of General Zia-ul-Haq . The VIII Amendment changed Pakistan's system of government from parliamentary democratic-republic system to a semi-presidential system. The VIII Amendment strengthened the authority of President and also permitted numbers of additional powers to dismiss the elected government of Prime minister. These powers included the right, expressed in sub-section 2(b) inserted into Article 58 the most important part of the Amendment, to dissolve the National Assembly (but not the Senate) if, in his or her opinion, "a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary." (Constitution of Pakistan, Article 58) with the consequence of dismissing the Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet.

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1 Text of VIII Amendment (Article 58 2(b) 2 Impact on democracy 3 The Eighth Amendment as a compromise 4 See also

[edit] Text of VIII Amendment (Article 58 2(b)

The Eighth Amendment, besides making a number of other changes to the Constitution, introduced the following clause into Article 58 of the Constitution:

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2) of Article 48, the President may also dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, in his opinion, (a) a vote of no-confidence having been passed against the Prime Minister, no other member of the National Assembly is likely to command the confidence of the

majority of the members of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, as ascertained in a session of the National Assembly summoned for the purpose; or (b) a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary.

[edit] Impact on democracy

The VIII Amendment was first used by General Zia-ul-Haq to dismiss the government elected technocrat Prime minister Khan Junejo on alleged corruption cases, though General Zia developed serious matters of authority with the Prime minister who wanted to decrease the authoritative role of General Zia. During the period of 1988 until 1996, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan made an extensive use of the VIII Amendment and the Article 58 2(b), which granted the discretionary power to dissolve the National Assembly mentioned in the previous section. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan overused and abused his powers to dismiss the elected governments of former Prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif. President Ghulam Ishaq Khan first used the VIII Amendment on August 6, 1990 against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto on alleged cases of nepotism and the corruption. In 1993, President Ishaq Khan again used this Amendment to dismiss the people elected government of Prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif. In the second instance, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was reinstated as Prime Minister by the Supreme Court, but the resulting stalemate ended with the resignations of both Ghulam Ishaq Khan and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to the Parliament of Pakistan. The use of Article 58 2(b) was almost exclusively justified by the President as necessary, for the removal of corrupt governments that, it was asserted, had lost the confidence of the people. Elections were held each time that caused the ruling party to lose its majority or plurality in the National Assembly. It was again used in 1996 by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari against against his own party leader Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in November 1996. In 1997, the XIII Amendment (Thirteenth Amendment) to the constitution of Pakistan was passed, stripping the President of the power to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections, effectively reducing the Presidency to a ceremonial figurehead. Pakistan's democracy provides no means for the people to directly recall members of Parliament before the end of their terms. Consequently, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments had the effect of removing the institutional Checks and Balances on the Prime Minister's power, by giving him or her immunity from being legally dismissed. The power of the President's office was partially restored by the Seventeenth Amendment. The power to dissolve the National Assembly and dismiss the Prime Minister is now subject to Supreme Court approval. In 2010, the XVIII (Eighteenth Amendment) to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed by Parliament of Pakistan reverting the 17th Amendment at an effective and immediate course.

[edit] The Eighth Amendment as a compromise

In general discourse, the Eighth Amendment has become synonymous with Article 58 2(b), which in turn is considered to be the provision that introduced the presidential power to dissolve the National Assembly. However, the Eighth Amendment was in fact a compromise between the Parliament elected in the non-party elections of 1985 and then President Gen. Zia-ul-Haq. Prior to the 1985 election, over a period of 6 years, Gen. Zia-ul-Haq had already made numerous amendments to the Constitution of 1973 through various Constitution Amendment Orders, the most significant being the Revival of Constitution of 1973 Order (President's Order No. 14 of 1985). That Order had in fact granted to the President even more discretion in dissolving the National Assembly. Clause (2) added to Article 58 by that Order stated: "The President may also dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, in his opinion, an appeal to the electorate is necessary." Note that the test of the constitutional functioning of the government was not required for the President to dissolve the National Assembly. It must also be stated that the Eighth Amendment also caused the elected Parliament to endorse all Orders made by Gen. Zia-ul-Haq by substituting the Article 270A introduced by President's Order No. 14 of 1985 by a slightly modified version, preserving the text declaring the validity of all of Gen. Zia's actions, including his takeover of July 5, 1977 and subsequent constitutional amendments. It is not clear whether this explicit parliamentary approval was required for Gen. Zia's amendments to obtain legal validity, but it appears that Gen. Zia considered it desirable to obtain this approval and thus chose to compromise by watering down some of the presidential powers his amendments had granted.

CONSTITUTION (NINTH AMENDMENT) BILL, 1985

A Bill further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Whereas it is expedient further to amend the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the purposes hereinafter appearing ; It is hereby enacted as follows:1. Short title and commencement. (1) This Act may be called the Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Act, 1985. (2) It shall come into force at once.

2. Amendment of Article 2 of the Constitution. In the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter referred to as the Constitution, in Article 2, after the word "Pakistan", at the end, the words "and the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah shall be the supreme law and source of guidance for legislation to be administered through laws enacted by the Parliament and Provincial Assemblies, and for policy making by the Government" shall be added. 3. Amendment of Article 203B of the Constitution. In the Constitution, in Article 203B, in paragraph (c), (a) For the comma after the word "Constitution" a full stop shall be substituted; and (b) The words, commas and semi-colon "Muslim Personal Law, any law relating to the procedure of any Court or tribunal or, until the expiration of ten years from the commencement of this Chapter, any fiscal law or any law relating to the levy and collection of taxes and fees or banking or insurance practice and procedure; and shall be omitted. 4. Amendment of Article 203D of the Constitution. In the Constitution, in Article 203D, after clause (3) the following new clause shall be added namely: (3-A) Notwithstanding anything contained in this chapter, in respect of any fiscal law or any law relating to the levy and collection of taxes and fees or banking or insurance practice and procedure, the Court shall, in case of law held by it to be repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam, in consultation with persons having special knowledge of the subject, recommend to the Government specific measures and a reasonable time within which to take adequate steps and amend such law so as to bring it in conformity with the Injunctions of Islam: Provided that the decisions of the Court shall not have retrospective effect and no right or claim shall be based thereon accordingly directly or indirectly. (3-B) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution including this chapter or clause (3A) or anything done pursuant thereto, or any law or any judgment of any Court to the contrary, all existing laws relating to the levy and collection of taxes and fees or banking or insurance practice and procedure which are the subject -matter of decision of the Court referred to in clause (3-A), shall continue to remain in force until such time as appropriate laws are enacted by the legislature in substitution of such exiting laws as a consequence of the final decision of the Court, as stated in clause (3-A), and until the said laws have been enforced:

Provided that nothing contained in clauses (3-A) and (3-B) shall apply to assessment made, orders passed, proceedings pending and amount payable or recovered before the enforcement of the laws enacted in pursuance of clause (3-A). Statement of objects and reasons. In consonance with the provisions of Article 2 and 227 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which respectively provide that Islam shall be the State religion of Pakistan and that all laws shall be brought in conformity with the Injunctions of Islam, as also the Objectives Resolution, this Bill seeks to amend Articles 2, 203B and 203D of the Constitution so as to provide that the Injunctions of Islam shall be the supreme law and source of guidance for legislation and policy making and to empower the Federal Shariat Court to make recommendations for bringing the fiscal laws and laws relating to the levy and collection of taxes in conformity with the said injunctions.