1

18TH AMENDMENT IMPACT ANALYSIS

1. Scope. Scope of the Seminar shall be as under :a. Concise appraisal of previous Seventeen amendments in order to ascertain their
rationale and pattern
b. Salient aspects of 18th amendment and its expected and anticipated effects.
c. Appraisal of challenges encountered in devoting federal ministries / subjects in
accordance with 18th amendment
d. Evaluation of the need for a new amendment to iron out its negative impact.
e. Recommend way forward to enhance well being of Federation of Pakistan in line
with the spirit of constitution as well as aspirations of people of Pakistan.

The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people; it is an
instrument for the people to restrain the government (Patrick Henry) 1736-1799

2. Introduction. Eighteenth Amendment Act to 1973 constitution was unanimously passed with
the support of all political parties in the Parliament and was promulgated on 20 April 2010. The Act
includes 102 amendments in all, which amended, substituted, added or deleted various provisions
of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Amendment has huge implications on
the overall allocation of subjects between the Federation and the provinces, entailing a structural
shift in the roles and responsibilities at the provincial level. The concurrent list (with 47 subjects)
stands abolished while the provinces have been given the additional responsibilities to handle the
business of 17 federal ministries. Importantly, the provinces now have an exclusive role in policymaking in crucial sectors such as health, education, agriculture and environment to name a few.
th

While the 18 Constitutional amendment may augur well for the future of the federation, it remains
to be seen if it has a positive impact on the existing governance and service delivery regime. Will
the shift in responsibilities to the provincial tier have the desired impact on the lives of the common
man? Given the human, financial and other resources at the disposal of provinces, will they be able
to cope with the additional responsibilities? These were some of the questions asked during the
constitutional reforms process. These questions are still relevant, more so for the policy makers and
implementers functioning at different tiers of government.
th

At the provincial level, the process of 18 Amendment should necessitate hiring of core staff in the
departments, including their training or re-designation to fulfil the requirements of effective policy
process. Environmental experts, engineers, archaeologists and finance specialists will now be needed
with the new powers at the provincial levels (especially in the smaller provinces). The provinces will
also need to get down to the serious business of framing new laws and ensuring that they are no
replicas of archaic colonial legal frameworks. This amendment has provided an opportunity for
provincial legislatures to review outdated, conflicting or discriminatory laws, as well as to close gaps
in the legislative framework for development and public welfare at a devolved level.
The detractors of this process allege that the post-18th Amendment changes were done in haste and
lack any imagination. Instead of thinking out of the box, many of the functions of the abolished
Ministries/Divisions have been retained at the Federal level rather dumped with other Divisions
like Cabinet, Inter-Provincial Coordination and Planning and Development. It is
argued that the under-performance and weak capacities of these institutions was already a matter of
concern, and that they will find it difficult to adapt to the newer role. Further, many legal,

administrative, financial and capacity issues need to be addressed at the provincial level to make the
th
18 amendment work in addition to considerations of collaboration and coordination with the federal
government in many areas of national concern. It is understood that extensive and detailed work still
needs to be done to effectively implement the Amendment. The provincial governments also need to
institute governance reforms, prioritize expenditures and increase own revenues. Given this
background, this paper will carry out a strategic appraisal of crucial sectors of education, health and
th
agriculture and assess the impact of the 18 Constitutional Amendment on the prevailing governance
And service delivery regime in these areas.

3. Aim.

To carry out an in-depth analysis of 18th Amendment Act and its overall

expected / anticipated effects, while laying focus on ensuing devolution of provincial

autonomy and its implications.
4. Sequence of Presentation
a. Part I
b. Part II
c. Part III
d. Part IV

PART I
CONTEXTUAL APPRAISAL OF 1973 CONSTITUTION
Socio Political Context - 1973 Constitution
1. Pakistan got its first constitution in 1956. This constitution preamble itself from
Objective Resolution of 1949 (Attached as Annexure >>>>>) and fostered a
parliamentary form of Government. 1956 Constitution life however was not more than
two years, as after 1958, the first Martial Law this constitution was abrogated. From
1958 to 1962, Pakistan remained under Martial Law. General Ayub gave a new
constitution based on a Presidential form of government in which the head of state was
elected indirectly through union councillors. Nevertheless, 1962 Constitution followed
certain guidelines of Objective Resolution, contained Islamic provisions and,
addressed distribution of power between provinces. In 1969, once President Ayub was
forced to leave amid street protests, second Martial Law was imposed by then CinC,
General Yahya under whose reign East Pakistan was separated in 1971. After
dismemberment of Pakistan, Mr Z A Bhutto was elected as prime Minister under whose
time in power the 1973 constitution was enacted... This parliament continued to function
till 1977, when massive street protests amid allegations of rigging in election lead to the
third Martial Law of Gen Zia Ul Haq, who instead of abrogating the constitution;
suspended it.
2. Gen Zias Martial Law continued till 1985. During that rule certain amendments were
made in the constitution to create a balance between powers of the President and
Prime Minister and additional powers were also given to the Senate. Presidential
powers to dismiss a government / Prime Minister were accorded vide Article 58(2) (b).
In 1985 elections were held and in March the same year the assembly started
functioning again. The Constitution of 1973 was restored with amendments and Martial
Law withdrawn. In 1988, President Zia using his constitutional powers dissolved the
national assembly and dismissed the Junejo government. Fresh elections in 1988
brought in Ms. Benazir Bhutto as Prime Minister. The constitution with Zia era
amendments continued till 1999, which was the longest period the constitutional system
worked.

3. In October 1999, General Musharraf suspended the constitution. The Supreme

Court upheld its validity on doctrine of necessity, but the new thing was that it gave
deadline for holding elections within three years. Elections were resultantly held in 2002
and Martial Law withdrawn. President Musharraf made further amendments in the
Constitution. However, in 2007 the Constitution was suspended for around six weeks
and then restored.
4. Structural Variance which Distinguished 1973 Constitution. The most prominent
characteristic of this Constitution was that it accommodated proposals from the
opposition parties and hence almost all the major political parties of the country
accepted it. The 1973 Constitution is a consensus document and has all what a good
federal constitution requires. However, few

clauses / articles which distinguished it

from the previous two constitutions are briefly enumerated as under:a. 1956 Constitution was though Parliamentary / Federal but has a unicameral
legislature, whereas 1962 promulgated a presidential form of government with
unicameral legislature. 1973 Constitution promulgated a Federal parliamentary
form of Government with Bicameral legislature consisting of two Houses i.e.
National Assembly and The Senate.
b. Objective Resolution of 1949 was made part of the Constitution.
c. In light of the previous experience, the Constitution of 1973 was more Islamic in
character than the previous ones. Emphasis was made to establish a real
Islamic system in all aspects of social life
d. The Islamic character in the constitution was retained and a Council of Islamic
Ideology was set up to advice on steps for establishing a system in accordance
with Islamic aspirations.
e. In the 1973 Constitution some additional strings were given to the Prime
Minister.
f. Explanation provided in constitution that explains as who is a non-Muslim
through 2nd amendment act
g. Official name of Pakistan was declared as "Islamic Republic of Pakistan" and
Islam was declared as the state religion of Pakistan.1
1

Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Article 2.

h. The constitution also gave the definition of a Muslim. A person who believes in
Tauheed or Oneness of Allah and in the prophet hood of Hazrat Mohammad
(P.B.U.H) as the last prophet of Allah was described as a Muslim.
i.

Laid down that only Muslims would be elected as President and Prime Minister of
Pakistan.2

j.

Judiciary was made free and independent.3

k. The Constitution guaranteed a right to the citizens4; to be protected by law, and

imposed two duties on them, loyalty to the Republic and obedience to the law. 5
l.

The Constitution conferred several fundamental rights to the people such as the
right to life, liberty, equality and freedom of speech, trade and association.6

5. Recap of Previous Seventeen Constitutional Amendments .It is a parliamentary

function in any democracy to make amendments in constitution. No constitution in the
world can be so rigid that it cannot be amended. The constitution or any of its provisions
can be amended by an act of Parliament, provided it is passed by votes of not less than
two thirds of the total number of members of the National Assembly and Senate.
However no amendment affecting the limits of the province can be made unless such
amendment has been approved by respective provincial assembly with two third
majorities. Before moving on to the 18th amendment, its clauses and its analysis , it is
considered vital to recap your memory about the high points of amendments prior to
18th Amendment Act
a. 1st Amendment. It was passed on 8 May 1974, vital areas were:(1)

Reasonable restriction on freedom to from association imposed by

law in the interest of sovereignty/ integrity of Pakistan.

(2)

Permissible period between two sessions of Senate and NA was

reduced from 130 to 90 days.

Ibid, article 41.

Ibid, Article 175.
4
Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Article 9,12 and 25.
5
Khan Hamid, Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan, Edition 2001, Chapter 22, pp 486-508.
6
Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Article 8 and 10.
3

b. 2nd Amendment. This was passed on 21 Sep 1974, it explains as who is a noMuslim. Through this act Ahmedis were declared as Non Muslims explicitly.
c. 3rd Amendment. This act was passed on 18th Feb 1975. It was introduced to
curtail rights of detainees and more powers were given to detaining
authorities for preventive detentions.
d. 4th Amendment.

This act was passed on 25th Nov 1975. Through this

constitutional jurisdiction of High court were forbidden in grant of bails to

persons in preventive detention7. Constitutional jurisdiction of High Court
was also curtailed in matters of grant of stay on recovery assessments,
collection of public revenue etc. The most redeeming feature of this act
was allocation of six special seats to the minorities in National Assembly
and Provincial Assembly ( Punjab 3 to 5)8
e. 5th Amendment. This act was passed on 15th Sep 1976, Major changes brought
by this act9 were as under:(1)

The Governor of the province was not be a permit resident of that

province.???????????

(2)

Period of separation of judiciary from executive was enhanced from three

to five years.???????

(3)

Chief Justice of Supreme Court will hold office for a pd of five years ,
unless he retires on completion of 65 years of age before that

(4)

Certain other amendment with regards to tenure of judges and

restriction of jurisdiction of supreme court to issue directions was
restricted to what is granted in constitution only

f. 6th Amendment. This act was hurriedly passed on 4th Jan 1977 and mainly
dilated upon the extension of tenure of Chief Justices beyond the age of
retirement10.
g. 7th Amendment. This act was passed on 16th May 1977. This amendment
provisioned to demonstrate confidence in the Prime Minister.???? Moreover
7
8

Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1975 Act LXXI of 1975. PLD 1975 Central Statutes 337.
Khan, Hamid, Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan, Edition 2001, pp.523-24.
Ibid. pp.532-36.
Ibid., pp 538

10

this amendment barred the High Court from exercising jurisdiction to any
area wherein Armed forces were acting in aid of civil power?????.
h. Revival of Constitution 1973 Order and 8th Amendment. Supreme Court of
Pakistan, in the case titled Nusrat Bhutto V Chief of Army Staff conferred the
power to amend constitution to on General Zia-ul-Haq. Exercising such powers
Gen Zia on 2 Mar 1985, comprehensively amended the constitution
through a Presidents Order known as Revival of Constitution 1973 Order
1985

11(RCO).

The RCO made fundamental alterations in the constitution and

as many as sixty five articles out of total 280 were amended / altered
/substituted / added/modified/ deleted/ omitted.

Important salient of RCO and

8th amendment are briefly enumerated as under.

(1)

RCO
(a)

Objective Resolution 1949 was made part of the constitution

with significant modification pertaining to minorities.

(b)

Electoral College for election of President was modified so as

to include both houses of Parliament and all four Provincial
assemblies.

(c)

President was empowered to dissolve the National Assembly at

his discretion.

(d)

Seats reserved for women in National Assembly increased from ten

to twenty.

(e)

Member in senate was raised from sixty three to eighty seven

including five seats for technocrats

(f)

Time period provided for President / governor to assent to bills

passed by respective National/ Provincial assemblies was increased
from seven to forty five days.

(g)

President / Governor could appoint any member of the National /

Provincial Assembly as Prime Minister / Chief Minister respectively,
who in his opinion could command the confidence of a majority of
the members of respective Assembly.

11

Ibid. pp 668-74

(h)

Federal Ministers and Ministers of State were too be appointed by

President on the advice of the Prime Minister.

(i)

Procedure for passing motion of no confidence against Prime / Chief

Ministers was altered and requirement of giving name of alternate
candidate was omitted.

(j)

Number of general constituencies for Muslims was raised from 200

to 207; in addition to that 10 seats were reserved for the minorities.

(k)

Seat in Provincial assemblies for minorities were also raised.

(l)

Another significant change brought about by RCO was that a large

number of additions to Qualification and Disqualifications for
becoming members of Parliament were introduced.

(m)

President was empowered to request one of the judge of supreme

Court to act as Chief Justice of a High Court

(n)

Permanent benches of High Court were incorporated in the

constitution.

(o)

President was conferred discretionary powers to appoint Chairman

Joint Chief of staff Committee and Chief of Army, Naval and Air
Staffs.

(p)

All martial Law orders and regulations were validated and complete
indemnity against suits and prosecution provided.

(q)

Appointment of governor of province was left to discretion of

President.

(r)

A National security Council was constituted, which was to

include the president, prime Minister, The Chairman of senate, the
Chairman of Joint Chief of Staff Committee and Chief of the three
Armed Forces.

(2)

8th Amendment. In milieu of the RCO, 8th Amendment bill was moved
and passed on 11th Nov 1985. Although 8th Amendment did not make
extensive changes in the RCO, yet it modified some of the alteration
made through RCO. In total eighteen articles were amended,
modified, added, varied or omitted. Power or the President were

10

slightly reduced and correspondingly extended to the Prime Minister

and the Cabinet. Though in material terms powers of president were not
curtailed much, yet enactment of 8th amendment led the way to lifting of
martial law. Salient of amendment made in RCO through 8 th amendment
bill were as under:(a)

Period of giving assent by President to bills passed by parliament

was reduced from forty five to thirty five days

(b)

President power to dissolve National Assembly was made

conditional and period to hold election was reduced from 100
to 90 days.

(c)

The power of president to appoint prime Minister was limited to

a period of five years i.e. until 20th March 1990.?????

(d)

President retained the power to appoint Governors of the provinces

but in consultation with Prime Minister.

(e)

Power of Governors to appoint Chief minsters was limited to a

period of three years i.e. until 20th march 1988.

(f)

Governor could dissolve the Provincial Assemblies but subject to

approval of the President.

(g)

Provision for establishment of National Security Council was

omitted.

(h)

Validation of martial law orders and regulations was substituted

with word Affirmation

i.

9th Amendment. This bill was moved during Prime Minister Junejos
Government. The bill intended to expand the injunction of Islam and Quran
and Sunna was to be supreme law and source of legislation. This bill was
never passed by the Parliament.(then how it became part of the law

j.

10th Amendment. This act was passed on 29 March 1987. Through this bill
number of days for which National Assembly was required to meet each
year was reduced from 160 to 130.

k. 11th Amendment. This bill was moved on 31st Aug 1989 as Private
Members Bill, it sought to restore twenty women seats in the National

11

Assembly. However on assurance of Government to introduce the same

bill very soon the bill was withdrawn by its movers.????????
l.

12th Amendment. This amendment was passed by the Parliament on 28 th July

1991. The main purpose was the establishment of special courts for
heinous offences. Other provisions were related to salaries of judges of
Supreme Court and High Court. This was a temporary amendment and was
to last for a period of three years only i.e. until july1994.

m. 13th Amendment. This amendment was moved and passed in a matter of

minutes on 4th Apr 199712. Salient of this amendment are as under:(1)

The most significant step was the deletion of article 58(2) (b), which
provisioned President to dissolve National Assembly13.

(2)

Corresponding powers of Governors to dissolve Provincial Assemblies

were also done away with.

(3)

Power of President to appoint Provincial Governors was also curtailed.

(4)

Discretionary Powers of President to appoint Chief of Armed Forces was

also taken away.

n. 14th Amendment. This amendment was passed on 3rd July 1997, once Prime
Minister Nawaz Sharif had a two third majority in both Houses of the
Parliament. The amendment was introduced to put to an end to the
problem of defection by the members of parliament. This amendment was
also rushed through in matter of minutes around midnight and was passed
unanimously.
o. 15th Amendment. This Bill was moved in Aug 1998 by Nawaz Sharif
Government14. The amendment, if passed, could have profound impact on the
character of the constitution. Although this amendment could not be finally
passed. Moreover the bill generated heated debate throughout the country.
Opposition in the Parliament was almost united against the bill and even some
members of PML (N) were also against the amendment. This bill was tabled
before the National Assembly on 9th October 1998, which passed it with 151
12

Ibid. pp. 817-18

Constitution (Fourth Amendment) Act, 1975 Act LXXI of 1975. PLD 1975 Central Statutes 337.
14
Ibid. pp.927-30
13

12

votes in favour and 15 against it. The Bill was initially not presented before the
Senate since Nawaz Sharif did not have simple two third majority.
Nevertheless, in 1999 the Nawaz Sharifs Government was overthrown by
General Musharraf in Oct 1999. Significant clauses of the bill were as under:(1)

The Holy Quran and Sunnah of Holy Prophet(Peace be Upon Him)

shall be the supreme Law of Pakistan

(2)

Federal Government shall be under obligation to enforce shariah, to

establish salat, to administer Zakat, to promote Amir Bil Maroof and
Nahi Anil Munkir.

(3)

Federal Government may issue directives for implementation of the

clauses and may take necessary action against state functionaries
for non-compliance of said directives.

(4)

Bill to amend constitution to remove any impediments in enforcement of

matter relating to Shariah, may originate in either House and if passed by
simple majority could be transmitted for approval of other House.

p. 16th Amendment. Sixteenth Amendment was promulgated on 5th August 1999 to

extend the quota system in services until August 2013.
q. Legal Frame Work Order (LFO) and Seventeenth Amendment. After the over
throw of Nawaz Sharif Government, the Supreme Court of Pakistan granted
power to General Musharraf to amend the constitution. General Musharraf
in exercise of such powers promulgated Legal Frame Work Order 2002
(LFO).
(1)

LFO. Important features of LFO are enumerated below:(a)

Political parties are required to hold intra party elections to elect

their office bearers and party leaders.

(b)

Seats in National Assembly were increased to 342 with 60 seats

reserved for women and 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims.

(c)

President was again empowered to dissolve National Assembly at

his discretion. Article 58(2) (b) was revived.

(d)

New disqualifications for members of parliament were added.

(e)

Article for defection clause was amended.

13

(f)

Governor was to be appointed by president after consultation with

Prime Minister.

(g)

Power of governor to dissolve Provincial Assemblies with prior

approval of President was revived.

(h)

Local Government system was conferred constitutional status.

(i)

Supreme Judicial Council was conferred the power to enquire

into matter of misconduct of judges.

(j)

Election commission was enlarged by including four judges of

High Court, one each from each province.

(k)

An article added to validate all laws made during the period of

suspension of constitution.

(l)

Schedule VI was amended and a number of laws were added to the

list that could not be altered, repealed, or amended without previous
sanction of President.

(2)

Seventeenth Amendment. LFO was never submitted before the

Parliament and Seventeenth DateAmendment bill only
contained amendments which were made in constitution under the
assumption that LFO had become part of the Constitution. LFO had
amended / added twenty nine articles in the constitution, out of
which twenty were left untouched by this amendment. Salient of this
amendment are as under:(a)

A new clause added to provide reference to supreme court within 15

days of dissolution of National Assembly under Article 58(2) (b). An
identical amendment was also made in article for dissolution of
provincial assemblies by the Governor.

(b)

Article for establishment of National Security Council was deleted

or added please check???????.

(c)

Protection provisioned to local Government Ordinance and Police

Order in Sixth Schedule was reduced to six years.

(d)

An article was inserted to affirm and validate all amendments made

from 12 Oct 1999 onward.

14

6. Median Time of Amendment of 1973 Constitution. It is evident that constitution of

Pakistan has been repeatedly and frequently amended. Some of these amendments
particularly the eighth and seventeen amendment had virtually changed the face
of the constitution. The constitution as it stands today after the 18th amendment
is completely different political and legal document then it was when originally
passed in 1973. Its structure particularly in terms of its provisions relating to system of
government and provincial autonomy has under gone a complete volte face. a peculiar
feature of the history of the constitutional amendments is that most of them were
passed hurriedly without reference to parliamentary committees and while relaxing the
rules regarding constitutional amendments. :-

Amdt NO

YEAR

GOVT HEAD

1st

May 1974

Z A Bhutto

2nd

Sep 1974

Z A Bhutto

3rd

Feb 1975

Z A Bhutto

4th

Nov 1975

Z A Bhutto

5th

Sep 1976

Z A Bhutto

6th

Jan 1977

Z A Bhutto

7th

May 1977

Z A Bhutto

8th

Nov 1985

Gen Zia/

9th

Nov 1985

Gen Zia

10th

Mar 1987

Gen Zia

11th

Aug 1989

Benazir Bhutto

12th

Jul 1991

Nawaz Sharif

13th

Apr 1997

Nawaz Sharif

14th

July 1997

Nawaz Sharif

15th

Aug 1998

Nawaz Sharif

16th

Aug 1999

Nawaz Sharif

17th

Aug 2002

Gen Musharaff

18th

2010

Zardari

15

7. Politico - Social Environments Triggering Amendments.

a. Zulifqar Ali Bhutto. 1973-1977. it is interesting to highlight after passing of 1973
constitution; within a span of four years government of Z A Bhutto incorporated
seven amendments into 1973 constitution. It is considered that few
amendments were brought about to improve governance and to control poor
law and order situation. Nevertheless, last three amendments, specially related
to referendum and judiciary were incorporated to favour Bhutto and continuation
of his regime. The Fifth Amendment on curtailing the power and jurisdiction of
the Judiciary was highly criticized by lawyers and political leaders. Sixth
Amendment which extended term of the Chief Justices beyond the age of
retirement was made in the Constitution to favour the then Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court who was supposed to be a friend of Bhutto.
b. Gen Zia-ul-Haq 1977 - 1988. During initial eight years of Gen Zias rule, there
has been no amendment in the constitution, amid non-existence of a
parliament. After the 1985 elections, Junejo as Prime Minister was though able
to lift the Martial Law but at the cost of Eight Amendment and validation of
Revival of the Constitutional Order. Through eighth amendment, Junejo
successfully brought the office of the President of almost at par with that of the
Prime Minister, yet, Gen Zia under the Article 58(2) b accrued the power to
dissolve the National Assembly at his own discretion. After the passing of
Article 58(2) b; National Assemblies were dissolved on four occasions using
powers of this article. The Eighth Amendment is considered as a landmark in
the constitutional history of Pakistan. It not only altered the very form of the
Constitution from purely Parliamentary to semi-Presidential but also changed
the constitutional and political history of the country.
c. Nawaz Sharif 1997 - 1999. A number of very important Constitutional
Amendments were introduced during Nawaz Sharif's second term. These
include the termination of the Eighth Amendment {repealing of 58 (2) (b)},
passing of Thirteenth Amendment and the Ehtesab Act, 1997. These
amendments were politically triggered by Nawaz Sharif desire to accrue

16

maximum powers and amid Nawazs experience of being victim of Article 58(2)
(b). Throughout Pakistan's political history, horse-trading and defection within
various parties created problems. Through the Fourteenth Amendment Nawaz
Sharif also addressed the problem of defection by parliament members. The
Fifteenth Amendment which could not be passed was also presumed to be an
effort by Nawaz to acquire additional powers for himself.
d. Gen Musharraf 1999- 2008. Legal Framework Order 2002 has been sanctified
by postulating that nobody can challenge it in any court of law "on any ground
whatsoever." Many believe that the L. F. O. 2000 has been enforced without
any regard for the Constitutional and democratic norms and proprieties. LFO
not only repealed the thirteenth amendment but also authorized the President to
enjoy the power of dismissing the Prime Minister along with his Cabinet and the
Parliament. With the adoption of the Legal Framework Order 2002, Pakistan
was virtually advanced from the parliamentary form of government to the
presidential system. Through Seventeenth Amendment basically the Legal
Framework Order 2002 was accepted as part of the Constitution with minor
modifications. 17th amendment also favoured the continuation of Gen
Musharrafs as President by making Article 63(1) (d) of the Constitution
inoperative till December 31, 2004. Article 63(1) (d) deals with the
disqualification for membership of Parliament. Amid suspension of this article,
Gen Mushaarff became eligible to be elected as President while holding the
office of COAS.
a. Rationale for the Seventeen Amendments. If we carry out a critical appraisal
of the rationale / reasons which lead to these Seventeen amendments, it will be
evident to us that most of the amendments were either incorporated to benefit
the individual leaders and to extend / support tenure in their respective offices
or were triggered amid other political motives. The attached Annexure reveals
that very few Amendments were made to improve the Governance in the
country, to protect human rights or to strengthen the democracy. Since its been
39 years since the 1973 Constitution has been promulgated; therefore average

17

median time the Constitution has been subjected to amendment comes to

around after every two years.

Rationale Based Categorization of Seventeen Amendments

Human
Rights
Nil

Good
Governance
03

Strengthen
Democracy
03

In Support
of Indl Ldrs
06

Politically
Motivated
05

Total

17

4. Rationales for Amendments in Contemporary Constitutions. After having done

the critical appraisal of rationales, which triggered the seventeen amendments in the
1973 Constitution of Pakistan, it was appropriate to do a comparative analysis with few
contemporary constitutions of the world in order to ascertain similarities or differences of
the motives for amendments. In this milieu, we have selected the constitution of USA,
India and Nigeria. Brief case study of these contemporary constitutions shall only focus
to ascertain time median for amendments while identifying apparent rationale / pattern
for the amendments.
a. Constitution of USA. The original United States Constitution was assumed on
17 September, 1787. Over time, the US Constitution has been amended or
improved only 27 times. To amend the Constitution the procedure is divided into
two different parts. Firstly, in both Houses of the Congress there should be at
least 2/3 majority of votes that are supporting the proposal. Secondly, 3/4 of the
states or the majority of the state legislatures' votes should approve it. There
are total 27 amendments to the US Constitution. The

attached Annexure

bring to light that out of the total 27x amendments, 17 x amendments in the
US constitution were made to protect the human rights of the people.
Moreover 8 x amendments were made to strengthen democracy. Most
astonishing fact evident from this analysis is that no amendment was done to
benefit the individual leaders or to extend / support their tenure in their
respective offices.

very few Amendments were made to improve the

Governance in the country, to protect human rights or to strengthen the

18

democracy. Interestingly, since its been 225 years since the US constitution
has been promulgated; therefore average median time the US Constitution has
been subjected to amendment comes to around after every eight years.

Rationale Based Categorization of Amendments

Human
Rights
17

10.

Good
Governance
02

Strengthen
Democracy
08

In Support
of Indl Ldrs
NIL

Total

Politically Motivated
NIL

27

Constitution of India. Indian constitution was passed by the Constituent

Assembly on 26th November 1949. However it came into effect on 26 th January 1950. It
is the longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world, containing 395
Articles in 22 parts and 14 schedules. In a span of more than 62 years, Indian
constitution has been subjected to total of 97 amendments. Amendments in Indian
constitution are made by Parliament, by a super-majority in each house, and certain
amendments must also be ratified by the states. The

attached Annexure

bring to

light that out of the total 97 x amendments, x amendments were made to protect the
human rights, 43 x amendments were made to strengthen democracy / federation
while

34 x amendments were made to improve day to day governance in the

country. Taking cognizance of culture of subcontinent, Indian constitution was

also subjected to 5 x amendments, which were brought in support of leaders /
Individuals at helm of affairs.

Another fact about the amendment worth

highlighting is that 13 x amendments were incorporated to cater for aspiration of

scheduled casts, whereas 9 x amendments were made to curb the insurgency in
the State of Punjab.

Rationale Based Categorization of Amendments

Human
Rights

Good
Governance

Strengthen
Democracy

In Support
of Indl Ldrs

Politically Motivated

07

34

43

05

08

Total

97

19

11.

Constitution of Nigeria and its Evolution.

Nigeria has had a series of

constitutions. The current constitution was enacted on 29 May 1999, inaugurating

the Nigerian Fourth Republic. Nigeria's first constitution as a sovereign state was
enacted by a British order in council so as to come into force immediately upon
independence, on 1 October 1960. Under this constitution Nigeria was a Common
Wealth Monarchy sharing its ceremonial head of state with the United Kingdom and a
number of other countries such as Canada. Independent Nigeria's second constitution
established the country as a Federal Republic and came into force on 1 October 1963
(Nigeria's third anniversary as an independent nation). The 1963 constitution, which
was based on the Westminster system. This system continued in operation until a
military coup in 1966, which overthrew Nigeria's democratic institutions. The 1979
constitution, which brought in the Second Republic, abandoned the Westminster
system in favour of an American -style presidential system, with a directly elected
executive. The 1979 constitution was again overthrown by a military coup on the last
day of 1983. The 1993 constitution was intended to see the return of democratic rule
to Nigeria with the establishment of a Third Republic but was never fully implemented,
and the military resumed power until 1999. The 1999 constitution restored democratic
rule to Nigeria and remains in force today. In January 2011, two amendments of the
1999 constitution were signed by President Good luck Jonathan, the first modifications
since the document came into use in 1999.

20

PART II
Generic Appraisal of 18th Amendment Act (1973 Constitution)
1. Composition - Parliamentary Review Committee.15 26 - Member all party
Parliamentary Committee on Constitutional Reforms was established on June 21, 2009
and formally it started its work in the second week of July. This committee was headed
by Senator Mian Raza Rabbani. The 26 members committee included only 11 members
from mainstream political parties, i.e. PPP and PML and PML (N). Party wise
composition of the committee was as under :
a. PPP: 5
(1)

Senator Mian Raza Rabbani

(2)

Raja Pervez Ashraf, Minister for Water & Power

(3)

Syed Naveed Qamar, Minister for Petroleum & Natural Resources

(4)

Dr. Babar Awan, Minister for Law Justice & Parliamentary Affairs

(5)

Senator Lashkari Raisani

b. PML (N) : 3
(1)

Senator Muhammad Ishaq Dar

(2)

Sardar Mehtab Abbasi, MNA

(3)

Ch Ahsan Iqbal, MNA

c. PML (Q) : 3
(1)

Senator Waseem Sajjad, Leader of Opposition

(2)

Senator S. M. Zafar,

(3)

Humayun Saifullah Khan, MNA

d. MQM : 2
(1)

Dr Farooq Sattar, Minister for Overseas Pakistanis

(2)

Syed Haider Abbas Rizvi, MNA

e. ANP : 2

15

(1)

Senator Afrasiyab Khattak,

(2)

Senator Haji Muhammad Adeel

Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment

21

f. JUI (F) : 2
(1)

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, MNA

(2)

Senator Rehmatullah Kakar

g. Misc Parties : 9
(1)

Senator Justice Abdur Razzaq Thahim, PML(F) Minister Local Govt

(2)

Senator Israrullah Zehri, BNP(A), Minister for Postal Services

(3)

Senator Prof. Khursheed Ahmed, JIP

(4)

Senator, Dr Abdul Malik, NP

(5)

Aftab Khan Sherpao, MNA, PPP(S)

(6)

Ghulam Murtaza Jatoi, MNA, NPP

(7)

Senator, Abdul Rahim Mandokhel, PKMAP

(8)

Senator Shahid Hassan Bugti JWP

(9)

Munir Aurakzai. MNA, IND

2. Time Template.

16It

is pertinent to mention here that the 26-member Committee on

Constitutional Reforms was established on 21 June, 2009 and formally it started its
work in the second week of July. Committee proposed the 18 th Amendment bill after
marathon sessions of 77 meetings with each meeting at an average lasting 5 hours,
thus the Committee has spent about 385 hours during its deliberations in nine months
and ten days. In the light of the above, the Committee proposed amendments to 97
Articles in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, through (Eighteenth
Amendment) Bill, 2010.
3. Nascent Mandate. 17The original Mandate given to the committee was to propose
amendments for giving effect to the Charter of Democracy signed between PPP and
PML (N). Nevertheless composition of the committee made it inevitable to arrive at
consensus reforms without going way beyond the original mandate. The committee
accordingly extended its mandate to include following objectives / targets for the
proposed reforms:a. Transparency
16
17

Ibid.
Ibid, pp 7

22

b. Reduction of Individual Discretion

c. Strengthening of the parliament and Provincial assemblies
d. Provincial Autonomy
e. Independence of Judiciary
f. Strengthening of Fundamental rights
g. Improving merit
h. Good Governance
i.

Strengthening of institution

4. Experience Template Key Members of Review Committee. Interestingly, there

is a similarity between the work of Abdul Hafeez Peerzada led the committee that
drafted the 1973 Constitution and the Senator Raza Rabbani-led committee. In both
committees all shades of political opinion in parliament were represented. It was also a
coincidence that S M Zafar, who was a member of the Raza Rabbani committee, was
adviser to the opposition in 1973 and was involved in the drafting of the Constitution.
Ghous Bakhsh Bizenjo, the father of member of the Rabbani committee Hasil Bizenjo,
had signed the 1973 Constitution. Interestingly S M Zafar was a key man in drafting the
17th Amendment and was involved in talks with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal in 2003
and now again played an important role in its undoing the 17th amendment. In nut shell
all key reformers have wide experience of legislation and have a long political legacy.
Low downs / profile of few important key members of the committee attached at

Annexure C to

.analysis of the profile of key members of committee

points to following facts

a. ..
b.
c. ..
d. .
4. Trigger / Political Environments Leading to 18th Amendment
a.

Political expediencies and Competing political interest. Both major political

parties of Pakistan i.e. PPP and PML (N) were somehow or the other victims of
8th and 17th Constitutional Amendment. During Gen Musharrafs rule, the two
main opposition leaders signed the Charter of Democracy in which they

23

committed to restore the 1973 Constitution and to initiate reforms aimed inter alia
at holding free and fair elections. These environments made the political scene
conducive to develop a consensus on overthrowing the clauses /amendments
which have hurt either of the major political parties one time or the other. Beside
the broad consensus all political parties had their own individual agendas also,
which they were looking forward to contemplate through these amendments.
Competing political interests / agendas of political parties were in shape of
omitting Intra party election, lifting of ban from third term of prime minister,
changing the name of provinces or repealing the qualification clauses for election
to the parliament. These interior motives of political parties coupled with genuine
need to restore the constitution in its original spirit and motivated them in
developing broad consensus on the policy of give and take. Individual aims /
agendas specific to a particular party shall be highlighted while we give an over
view of the 18th amendment.

Under this prevailing favourable environments,

President Zardari asked the Speaker of the National Assembly to constitute an

all-party committee of both Houses of Parliament, to propose amendments to the
Constitution in light of the Charter of Democracy. It was commonly understood
that this was intended to rid the constitution of 17th amendment and to bring it in
line with the spirit of Charter of Democracy.
b.

Pressing Public / Provincial Demand.

The provincial autonomy in Pakistan

regardless of the sanctimonious statements of politicians on the subject from time to

time is a dream that has practically eluded Pakistan. Spirit of 1973 Constitution

was originally was also based on Federal Parliamentary system with

Provincial Autonomy and independence of the Judiciary. Unfortunately,
this spirit could not be implemented in letter and spirit, amid derailing of
democratic system at different times. Alteration made in favour of presidential
form of government through 8th and 17th amendment led to a sense of deprivation
in provinces in general and people of these provinces in particular. Moreover,
provinces exceedingly felt deprived of their legitimate constitutional rights in
governance and utilization of their natural resources; which resultantly created a
state of alienation and confrontation between Provinces and Federation The

24

demands of amendments in the Constitution for giving the Provinces autonomy,

ensuring an independent and impartial Judiciary and equality in sharing of
resources were repeatedly raised by all political forces, provinces and the Media
from time to time. This demand was further strengthened after the signing of
Charter of democracy on 14th May, 2006. Pressing public demand, aspirations of
provinces and environments of competing political interests facilitated President
Zardari to constitute an all-party committee to propose amendments to the
Constitution in light of the Charter of Democracy. It was commonly understood
that this was intended to rid the constitution of 17th amendment and to bring it in
line with the spirit of the Charter of Democracy.
5. Overview of Legislative Structure Envisaged in 1973 Constitution. The 1973
Constitution envisaged four legislative domains18, that is, exclusive Federal
Legislative List-I (FLL-I), exclusive provincial domain (Residuary) and Concurrent
Legislative List (CLL) with federal laws superseding the provincial laws in case of
inconsistency. Finally it also provided a mechanism of participatory and
harmonious functioning under Council of Common Interests (CCI), represented
by Federal and Provincial Governments, to formulate and regulate policies in
relation to matters in Federal Legislative List II.

The Federal Legislative List I

contained 59 subjects like defence, security, external affairs, communications,

currency, foreign exchange, public debt, federal services, major ports, intellectual
property, import and export, inter-provincial trade, State Bank, stock exchanges,
national planning and national economic coordination, national highways,
census, custom and excise duties, duties in respect of property, taxes on income
and corporations other than agricultural income, sales tax, taxes on mineral
resources, statistics and jurisdiction and powers of all courts except Supreme
Court. Parliament had the exclusive right to legislate on all these matters. The Federal
Legislative List II FLL-II (8 subjects) contained subjects like railways, mineral oil and
natural gas, development of industries under federal law, establishments under the
control of federal government, CCI and fees, offences and statistics to any of the
18

Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan

25

matters enumerated in this list. The Concurrent Legislative List (CLL) (47 subjects)
contained provisions related to criminal law, criminal and civil procedure, evidence,
marriage, wills, bankruptcy, arbitration, contracts, transfer of property, removal of
prisoners, preventive detentions, explosives, drugs and medicines, environment,
population and social welfare, welfare of labour, trade unions, regulation of labour,
electricity, curriculum, syllabus, standards of education, Islamic education, Zakat,
tourism, legal, medical and other professions and fees and statistics related to any
matter in this list. These subjects fell under the concurrent domain of Parliament and
Provincial Assemblies. The residuary subjects (not contained in any list) fell under the
exclusive domain of provinces.
6. Overview of 18th Amendment19. The Constitution20 (Eighteenth Amendment) Act,
2010 was unanimously passed with the support of all political parties in the Parliament
and was promulgated on 20 April 2010. The Act includes 102 amendments in all, which
amended, substituted, added or deleted various provisions of the Constitution of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Beside its overall impact, the Amendment also has huge
implications on the allocation of legislative subjects between the Federation and the
provinces, entailing a structural shift in the roles and responsibilities at the provincial
level. An overview of major Clauses of 18th Amendment in the order of precedence /
linkage with scope of seminar are enumerated as under :a. Abolishment of Concurrent List.21 18th amendment, abolished the Concurrent
Legislative List (CLL) bringing all subjects contained therein, with certain
exceptions, under the exclusive domain of provinces. Subjects like (Lotteries,
duties in respect of succession to property and estate duty in respect of
property) were deleted from FLL-I bringing them in the exclusive domain of
provinces. Few subjects from FLL-I (major ports, national planning and national
economic coordination, census and extension of powers of police force to other
provinces) and CLL (electricity and legal, medical and other professions)
were moved to FLL-II; besides, some new entries (regulatory authorities under

19

Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment, Annex E.

20

Report, Strategic Appraisal of 18th Amendment , Senior Management Wing National Management College

21

Hamid, Shahid, Briefing Paper on 18th Constitutional Amendment at PILDAT Jul 2010

26

federal law, supervision and management of public debt, standards in higher

education institutions and interprovincial matters and coordination) were added
thereby enhancing the list of subjects under the supervision of CCI. Moreover,
abolishment of Concurrent Legislative List (CLL) has given the provinces
additional responsibilities to handle the business of 17 federal ministries.
Importantly, the provinces now have an exclusive role in policy-making in crucial
sectors such as health, education, agriculture and environment to name a few.
The effect of these changes is reduction in the exclusive domain of Parliament
and increased list of subjects for legislation by provincial assemblies, thereby
increased provincial autonomy in their affairs. This also means an enhanced list
of areas for CCI, providing a forum for provincial governments to voice their
opinion in these areas.

As per revision, Prime Minister is Chairman of CCI and the

Council should meet at least once in 90 days.

Overall, due to this Amendment,

18 federal ministries would cease to exist, with most of their functions

devolved to the provinces.
(The aspect of devolution and its related ramification shall be handled in detail
in the next presentation / part)
b. New Entries in Federal List - Part II. In view of abolishment of concurrent list
few subjects enumerated below have been transferred to Part II of federal
legislative list22. The change means that all policy decisions on these subjects
will henceforth be within the domain of the Council of Common Interests:(1)

Electricity.

(2)

Major Ports.

(3)

All regulatory authorities established under the federal Law.

(4)

National planning, national economic coordination and scientific /

technological research.

(5)

Supervision and management of public debt

(6)

Census.

(7)

Extension of powers and jurisdiction of police force belonging to

any province.

22

Ibid.

27

(8)

Legal, medical and other professions.

(9)

Standard in Institutions for higher education.

(10)

Inter provincial matters and coordination.

c. Council of Common Interests (CCI).

23

Due to transfer of few subjects from

abolished Concurrent List and from Part I of Federal List to Part II of Federal
Legislative List, CCI now has much greater responsibilities. To cope up with
increased responsibilities; it has been adequately strengthened by making the
Prime Minister, its chairman. It shall comprise three Federal Ministers and
four Chief Ministers.
d. Devolution of Power - Subjects. After deletion of Concurrent List and transfer
of some subjects from deleted concurrent list to Part II of Federal List in the
manner described earlier, the further responsibilities that stand transferred to
the provinces now include24:-

23
24

Ibid.
Ibid.

(1)

Civil procedure including law of limitation.

(2)

Marriage, divorce, infants and minors adoption.

(3)

Wills and succession

(4)

Arbitration.

(5)

Contracts including partnership and agency.

(6)

Trusts and trustees

(7)

Transfer of property.

(8)

Removal of prisoners from one province to the other.

(9)

Actionable wrongs.

(10)

Preventive detention.

(11)

Arms, fire arms and ammunition.

(12)

Explosives.

(13)

Opium.

(14)

Drugs and medicines.

(15)

Infections and contagious diseases.

(16)

Mental Illness.

28

(17)

Environmental pollution and ecology.

(18)

Population planning and social welfare.

(19)

Welfare of labour.

(20)

Trade unions.

(21)

Labour Exchanges, employment information bureaus.

(22)

Safety of Labour in Mines.

(23)

Unemployment insurance.

(24)

Shipping and navigation of inland waterways.

(25)

Mechanically propelled vehicles.

(26)

Newspapers, books and printing presses.

(27)

Evacuee property.

(28)

Ancient and historical monuments.

(29)

Curriculum, syllabus planning policy and standard of Education, except in

Institutions of higher education.

(30)

Islamic education

(31)

Zakat

(32)

Production, censorship and exhibition of films.

(33)

Tourism.

(34)

Auqaf

e. 7th National Finance Commission Award. The National finance Commission

shall not reduce the share of resources allocated25 to the provinces by
previous commissions. Provinces have become entitled to the entire
proceeds of the excise duty on oil in addition to excise duty on natural
gas. Other important provisions of the 7th NFC award are as under:(1)

Distribution of Revenue. One percent of net proceeds of divisible

pool taxes shall be assigned to government of KPK to meet
expenses of war on terror. Balance of the net proceeds of divisible pool
taxes; 57.5 % shall be assigned to Provinces w.e.f. from fiscal year
2011-12. Share of federal governments shall be 42.5 %. Divisible pool

25

Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment

29

of taxes in each year shall consist following taxes levied by Federal

Government in that year:
(a)

Tax on Income

(b)

Wealth Tax

(c)

Capital Value Tax

(d)

Taxes on sales and purchases of goods imported, exported,

produced and manufactured.

(e)

Export duties on Cotton.

(f)

Custom duties.

(g)

Federal Excise duty excluding the duty on gas

26charged

at well

head.
(h)

Any other tax which may be levied by Federal government

f. Repeal of 17th Amendment and Related Orders.

27

Through 18th amendment,

the constitution Seventeenth amendment act 2003 and all proclamation

orders by Gen Musharraf have been declared void. However, acts28 ,
notifications etc issued during Musharraf period have nevertheless been
validated, till set aside by the competent authority. The provisions are similar to
what happened after Gen Yahya Khans tenure.
g. Reduction in Power of President.

29The

position and powers of President have

been considerably reduced. Presidents powers to dissolve the National

Assembly or to refer a question to a referendum have been removed. The
president is now to appoint Governors, the Services Chiefs and the Chairman
Federal public Service Commission on the binding advice of the Prime Minister.
and
h. Defection from Political Parties. As per changes in article 63 A,
disqualification for defection will be triggered on the reference made by
Head of the Political Party in place of Head of Parliamentary Party. In
consequence of receipt of such reference speaker or Election commission will

26

Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment, Para 60.

Ibid. Annex E
28
Ibid
29
Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment.
27

30

not be able to delay its processing. This clause virtually empowers the head
of the majority party or coalition of parties to dictate who the prime
minister will be.
i.

Intra - Political Parties Elections. As per Article 17,30 beside other things
Intra Political parties Elections has been done away on the pretext that
Political parties act 1962 already provides for such elections. As per
analysis31 of Mr Asif Ezdi, ex member of Pakistan Foreign Service, The way has
thus been cleared for the seamless succession of the next generation illustrious
political dynasties of country, which dominate Pakistans political arena.

j.

Removal of Ban Third Term Office of PM / CM. The restriction on a person

to be a third time Prime Minister / or Chief Minster has been removed.

k. Renaming of NWFP / Provinces. The North West Frontier Province32 has been
renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Although soon after being renamed, it has
become controversial especially in the Hazara Division.
l.

Size of Cabinet. The Number of Ministers, inclusive of State Ministers has

been restricted to 11 % of the total membership of the parliament i.e. 49
out of 446 members parliament. Nevertheless, the provision is to be effective
after next general elections.

m. Appointment of Judges. The appointement of judges shall be done by

seven members judicial commission headed by the Chief Justice of
Pakistan. The recommendations of judicial commission shall be sent to an
eight member Parliamentary committee with power to reject the
recommendation by not less than three fourth majority.????(19th
amendment)
(Eventual fate of this amendment has to checked)
n. Qualification for Election to the Parliament.33 In Article 62 & 63 relating to
qualification and disqualification for election to the parliaments and provincial
30

Hamid, Shahid, Briefing Paper on 18th constitutional amendment at PILDAT Jul 2010
31
http://article.wn.com/view/2010/04/26/Monday_April_26_2010_By_Asif_Ezdi/
32

Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment.

31

assemblies

there

has

been

few

positive

and

negative

changes.

Disqualification clause on pretext of person convicted on moral turpitude /

false

evidence

has

been

removed.

More

over

time

limits

for

disqualification have been reintroduced in place of life time bans. 18th

Amendment has also made it possible for the corrupt to be there in the
Parliament irrespective of the conviction awarded Pakistan the safest country in
the world for the corrupt politician. there has been few
o. Passing of the bills. Substitution34 in Article 70 with Introduction of passing of
bills, adding that a bill with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative
List may originate in either house and shall, if it is passed by the house in
which it originated, be transmitted to the other house and if the bill is passed
without amendment by the other house also, it shall be presented to the
president for assent. Bills presented in the house but not passed within 90
days of laying in the House shall be considered in a joint sitting of parliament35
p. Omission of Sixth and Seventh Schedule. The Sixth and Seventh Schedules
to the constitution have been omitted36. Sixth Schedule (attached as Annexure
.......) included thirty five laws, which could only be amended with the prior
consent of the President. Seventh Schedule included eight laws which could
only be amended in the manner provided for amendment of the constitution.
Now these laws will be treated as any other law on the statue books37.
q. Local Governments. Article 140-a related to devolution of power to local
Governments has been retained and expanded to provide that elections to
local Governments shall be held by the Election Commission of
Pakistan.38
r. Executive Authority of the Federation. After substitution of Article 90; Now the
Executive Authority of the Federation shall not vest in the President be

33

Ibid, Para 20 & 21

http://pkpolitics.com/2010/04/03/summary-of-18th-amendment/
35
Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment, Para 23
36
Ibid, para102 &103
37
Hamid, Shahid, Briefing Paper on 18th constitutional amendment at PILDAT Jul 2010
38
Ibid.
34

32

exercised in the name of President by the Federal Government comprising

Prime Ministers and Federal Ministers39
s. Expanding the Definition of Treason. The definition of high Treason has been
expanded. Now an act of suspending the constitution or holding it in abeyance
or an attempt to do so shall also be high treason. High treason cannot now be
validated by the Supreme or the High Court40.
t. Caretaker Governments. After dissolution of the assembly, the President
shall appoint a Care-taker Prime Minister in consultation with the outgoing
Prime Minster and leader of the Opposition. Similar provisions have been
provided for the Provincial Care-taker Governments(20th amendment)
u. Role of Senate. The role of senate has been substantially enhanced. Unlike
past, now President cannot promulgate an Ordinance while Senate is in
session.????? The Prime Minister and Cabinet will henceforth be collectively
responsible both to Senate and National Assembly.
v. Fundamental Rights. Fundamental Rights in the constitution have been
increased to include Right of Fair Trial, Right of Information, and the Right to
Education (free education from age 5 to 16).
7. Overview of Take / Stance of Stake Holders on 18 th Amendment. Upon approval
of 18th Amendment received a mixed reaction / response from all tiers of society and
stake holders. Brief synopsis of the same is appended below:-,
(1)

Political Parties/ Members of Review Committee Stance. 18th

Amendment was unanimously approved by all political parties, yet every
political party has reservations with regard to few clauses / article and
they duly submitted those in shape of notes of reiteration to the reform
committee. Summary of major differences outlined in Annexure .........

39
40

Constitutional Reform Committee Report on 18th Amendment, Para 28

Ibid, Para 4

33

,
(2)

(3)

Stance of Judiciary on 18th Amendment (spec on appointment of judges

in particular and overall 18th amendment in general).
Provinces Stance / take on Amendment (Pre, Post and Now).

(4)

b. General Perception / Understanding of 18th Amendment.

(1)

General Perception of People and Masses.

(2)

Survey of Participants of NSWC 2012/ 13; based on Simple Key

Questions:(a)

Has quality of Governance improved post 18th amendment?

(b)

Has 18th Amendment achieved desired objectives?

(c)

Has rationale for which 18th amendment was introduced met;

largely, partially, not at all?

(d)

Is 18th amendment an end in itself or mean to an end?

(e)

______________________

(f)

--------------------------------------------------

(g)

______________________

(h)

______________________

(These questions shall also form the basis of research for seminar and shall be On the

omission of the Concurrent Legislative List, the

process of devolution of the matters mentioned in the said List to the
Provinces shall be completed by the thirtieth day of June, two thousand and
eleven.
(9) For purposes of the devolution process under clause (8), the
Federal Govefll!l1ent shall.conStitute an Implementation Commission as it
may deem fit within fifteen days of the commencement of the Constitution
(Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010.",
.
suitably dovetailed at appropriate place)

c. Panel Members General Perception before the Research (Optional)

34

PART III

4. Devolution of Power to Provinces

a. Structure.
b. Revision of Federal / Provincial List (Subj added / omitted shall be shown in
tabulated form).
c.

Council of Common Interest.

d. National Economic Council.

e. Federal Ministries Abolished (Incl subjects of abolished ministries retained / tfr to
other ministries / divisions).
5. Impact of Abolishment of Ministries on Governance / Service Delivery
a. Impact on Education.
b. Impact on Agriculture.
c. Impact on Health / Food.
d. Impact on Provincial Autonomy (Retention / tfr of func of abolished Ministries to
other Federal Ministries / Division.
e. Impact on functioning of Local Govt.
6. Strategic Impact
a. Impact on National Security
b. Impact on National Harmony, Uniformity, Culture and Social Fibre.

7. Assessment of the Progress on Devolution

a. State of Preparedness of Provinces.
b. Provinces Capacity to Handle Devolved Subjects / Ministries.
c. Abolished Federal Ministries Response / Perception on Devolution.
(Above research shall be based on structured interviews of related Secretaries /
Offrs of Cabinet Division / abolished Ministries).

35

d. Measures taken by Federal Govt for Smooth Devolution of Powers.

e. Panels View on Overall State of Governance (Post abolishment of Federal
Ministries and on Subjects made part of Federal Legislative List 2 {FLL2}).
8. Review of Devolution of Power Formula and Challenges
a. How much delivered and on what all subjects.
b. Fiscal space.
c. Political ownership.
d. Meeting International obligation.
e. Transition and sustainability.
f. Human resource issues.
g. Losses of discarded projects amid abolishment of Ministries.
h. Legal and contractual issues.
9. Reality Check Impact of 18th Amendment
a. State of quality of Governance improved or otherwise (Statistics / Pie charts).
b. Has Socio- Economic conditions witnessed change (Positive / Negative)? {area
of focus shall be health and education}.
c. Has Amendment strengthened democratic culture / values? (Statistics of post
18th amendment voting trends in parliament in legislation can be focused).
d. Has 18th amendment achieved desired objectives?
e. Areas where changes brought in ( Statistics only)

PART IV
10. Overview of Amendments Incorporated so far after 18th Amendment
a. 19th Amendment

(OPTIONAL)

b. 20th..
c. 21st
11. Need for Another Amendment to Offset Negative Impact of 18th Amendment

36

a. Identification of key area triggering another amendment of constitution.

b. Dividends of proposed amendments.
12. Recommendations
a. __________________
b. ____________________
c. ________________________
d. ___________________________
(Part IV shall be deliberated / expanded, post requisite research undertaken on
previous parts i.e. Part II & III)