Scribd
Upload
174 views5 pages

Constitution Crisis

Between 1947 and 1973, Pakistan struggled to establish a stable constitutional system and experienced several crises. The first constitution in 1956 established Pakistan as an Islamic republic but did not solve political issues. Subsequent constitutions in the 1950s and 1960s also faced criticism for not adequately addressing representation and powers. Frequent changes in leadership and instability hampered constitutional development. The 1973 Constitution finally established a parliamentary democracy with protections for fundamental rights.

Uploaded by

pinkiepie
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
174 views5 pages

Constitution Crisis

Between 1947 and 1973, Pakistan struggled to establish a stable constitutional system and experienced several crises. The first constitution in 1956 established Pakistan as an Islamic republic but did not solve political issues. Subsequent constitutions in the 1950s and 1960s also faced criticism for not adequately addressing representation and powers. Frequent changes in leadership and instability hampered constitutional development. The 1973 Constitution finally established a parliamentary democracy with protections for fundamental rights.

Uploaded by

pinkiepie
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

Constitutional Crisis

How successful was Pakistan in establishing a new constitution between 1947 and
1973? Explain your answer.
Successes:
The first attempt to set up a constitution came in 1949 with the Objectives Resolution which
tried to pave the way towards a new constitution. It attempted to set out a plan to enshrine
Islamic principles in an eventual constitution.
In 1952 a revised Basic Principles Committee presented a report which made firm steps
towards an Islamic constitution by stating that the Head of State should be Muslim and that
he would appoint a committee of Islamic specialists to ensure that all legislation conformed
to Islamic law
In 1956 the long awaited constitution emerged with the important declaration that Pakistan
was to be an Islamic Republic and that Urdu and Bengali would be the official languages,
which was an attempt to placate the people of East Pakistan.
In 1959 Basic Democracies were introduced by Ayub Khan which was a 4 tier structure of
government, allowing elections at various levels. The success of these councils which were
set up was such that martial law was lifted in 1962 after a new constitution was introduced.
The 1973 Constitution revived the power of the National Assembly and as a result political
parties became more important.

Failures:
The Objectives Resolution of 1949 was criticised especially by East Pakistan who resented
the fact that Urdu, not Bengali was to be the official language despite the much larger
population. It also resented the idea of equal representation in the National Assembly, again
due to the size of its population. The death of Liaquat Ali Khan meant that constitutional
change had to wait until a new leader could be found and had time to settle in
The Basic Principles Committee’s report was criticised because the official language issue
was still not settled and East Pakistan was determined to oppose the selection of Urdu.
Political uncertainties and change meant that further discussions towards establishing a new
constitution were put on hold for a few years until 1956.
The 1956 constitution was heavily criticised since it didn’t solve the political problems of
Pakistan. The constitution promised a parliamentary system of government but whilst the
President held the power to intervene or even suspend the Assembly. East Pakistan was
very unhappy at not having a majority in the Assembly that it believed its vast population
deserved. The 1962 constitution increased the powers of the ruling elite which happened
because the major landlords dominated the elections to the Basic Democracies and often
used force or bribery to influence the results .The constitution also upset the people of East
Pakistan as they felt they were going to have little part in the governing of Pakistan and that
the power was held by the military and civil officials of West Pakistan

Describe the 1956 Constitution


Adopted by 2nd Constituent Assembly, a compromise between Muslim League and United
Front, Islamic Republic of Pakistan pronounced, Mirza became President who could choose
the Prime Minister. President had to be a Muslim and had emergency powers and could
dissolve National Assembly. There was a cabinet (advisory only) and a National and
Provincial Assembly. Constitution scrapped in 1958 and martial law declared.

Describe the terms of the 1973 Constitution.


Introduced by Bhutto. Pakistan to become a federal republic with parliamentary system of
government. PM to be head of government. Pakistan an Islamic Republic with Islam the
state religion. PM and President to be Muslims. Fundamental human rights to be recognised
with Supreme and High Courts to enforce these. PM agrees to President’s orders but advises
President. Upper House (Senate) to be elected and must not be dissolved. Emergency
powers for government. Armed forces not to take part in political activities.

Why were there so many governments between 1951 and 1958?


Jinnah had died in 1948 and Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951. The country was
struggling to establish itself without these two experienced figures.
The problems of running a new country were very difficult to overcome and India had not
been forthcoming in sharing out the joint assets.
The problems associated with managing the Kashmir issue and relations with India over it
were very difficult with no agreement on its future.
The formation of East Pakistan brought with it problems relating to the capital being located
in West Pakistan, and the refusal to have Bengali as the main language was a source of
discontent and conflict.
Together with a plethora of assassinations of leading figures, inexperienced politicians were
having great difficulty running the country, and as a result there was a lack of stability in
governing and this led to many different governments being formed during these years.

Why was there a constitutional crisis between 1954 and 1955?


 Jinnah had died in 1948 and Khan Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated in 1951.
• The country was struggling to establish itself without these two figures.
• The problems of running a new country were very difficult to overcome and joint assets
had not been shared.
• There was a lack of stability which led to many different governments being formed during
these years.
• In 1953 Nazimuddin’s government was dismissed and replaced with Bogra who lacked
experience.
• An example was in the passing of the amendment to Government of India Act in 1954
while Ghulam Muhammad was abroad to limit his powers causing a crisis. When he
returned he dissolved the Assembly and declared a state of emergency stating that Bogra
had lost the confidence of the people.
• This was challenged in court but Ghulam Muhammad prevailed.
• The One Unit Policy was also unpopular, causing unrest.

Explain why there was a constitutional crisis in 1958.


• There were a number of Prime Ministers between 1956 and 1958 and it reached a stage
where Ayub Khan felt the army should take control until stability had been restored.
• Previous governments endured a number of problems that hampered development such
as food shortages and a drought, which led to demonstrations of discontent. As successive
governments found difficulty in dealing with these matters, there were many personnel
changes to try to find a solution. As a result, little constitutional development could take
place.
• Iskander Mirza lost the support of many of the leading politicians and was alarmed at a
plan by Prime Minister Suhrawardy to unite the political leadership of Bengal and Punjab
against him.
1948:
Khawaja Nazimudin became the new Governor General (after Quaid)
Liaquat Ali Khan remained PM

1951:
Assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan
Ghulam Muhammad became the 3rd Governor General
Khwaja Nazimudin became PM

1953:
Ghulam Muhammad dismissed Khwaja Nazimudin’s govt
Muhammad Ali Bogra was appointed as new PM
Ghulam Muhammad remained 3rd Governor General

1954:
Assembly was dissolved by MGM after Bogra persuaded the assembly to pass laws
limiting powers of governor general in MGM’s absence i.e Governor General had to take
advice of his cabinet and the cabinet had to be approved by the Assembly
MGM chose a new cabinet not part of the assembly
MGM reappointed Bogra as PM
Tamizuddin (speaker of dissolved Assembly) contested the dissolution in Sindh High
Court saying the dissolution was illegal and that non-assembly members should not be
appointed in cabinet

1955:
The court ruled in favour of Tamizuddin
MGM appealed to the Federal Court against the judgement which ruled in favour of
MGM saying he had the authority to dismiss the assembly
Elections were held for a new constituent assembly
MGM fell ill and was replaced by Iskandar Mirza as acting Governor General
Iskandar Mirza dismissed Bogra as PM
Iskandar Mirza appointed Chaudhary Muhammad Ali as PM
1956:
Chaudhary Muhammad Ali resigned as PM
Mirza replaced him with Suhrawardy

1957:
Suhrawardy kept his job for a year only as he had no desire to be a ‘puppet’ PM
Suhrawardy was dismissed when he pressed mirza to allow him a meaningful degree of
authority
Iskandar Mirza appointed Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar as a new PM
Since his govt was a collection of politicians with differing views who could not agree on
major issues, Mirza appointed Feroze Khan Noon
Feroze’s govt was even more divided

1958:
Many politicians stopped supporting Mirza and his rule became highly unpopular.
Suhrawardy had planned to unite the political leadership of Bengal and Punjab against
him, and Mirza turned to the military consequently
Iskandar Mirza proclaimed martial law with himself as president
He asked Commander in Chief of the army, Ayub Khan, to take charge as Chief Martial
Law Administrator
Ayub Khan was appointed as PM

You might also like