Pakistan Affairs MCQs – Page 32 (Q311-320)

The Objectives Resolution was made a substantive part of the Constitution through the 8th Amendment, passed in 1985 under President Zia-ul-Haq, inserting it as Article 2A of the 1973 Constitution. Originally passed by the Constituent Assembly in 1949 as a preamble-style statement of principles, the resolution had earlier only guided constitutional interpretation without binding legal force. Making it substantive gave the Objectives Resolution's Islamic principles direct legal weight, significantly influencing subsequent judicial interpretation of laws' compatibility with Islamic injunctions. The 8th Amendment as a whole is remembered primarily for granting the president sweeping powers, including the ability to dissolve the National Assembly under Article 58(2)(b).

The 8th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 1985, under President Zia-ul-Haq, as part of the process of restoring a modified form of civilian rule after years of martial law. It significantly altered the balance of power between the president and prime minister, most notably granting the president discretionary power under Article 58(2)(b) to dissolve the National Assembly. The amendment also made the Objectives Resolution a substantive part of the constitution via the newly inserted Article 2A. Article 58(2)(b) was used to dismiss several elected governments in the following years before its repeal through the 13th Amendment in 1997.

The 8th Amendment granted the President the power to dissolve the National Assembly under Article 58(2)(b), a provision inserted in 1985 that significantly shifted Pakistan's constitutional balance toward presidential authority. This power was used four times between 1988 and 1996 to dismiss elected governments, including those of Benazir Bhutto twice and Nawaz Sharif once, contributing to significant political instability during the 1990s. The provision was widely criticised as undermining parliamentary democracy by giving an unelected office the ability to remove elected governments. It was finally repealed through the 13th Amendment in 1997 under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, restoring greater stability to the parliamentary system, though a similar power was briefly reintroduced by Pervez Musharraf before being permanently removed by the 18th Amendment in 2010.

The 13th Amendment, which removed the President's power to unilaterally dissolve the Assembly, was passed in 1997, under Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's second government, following his landslide election victory that year. It repealed Article 58(2)(b), the controversial provision inserted by the 8th Amendment in 1985 that had allowed presidents to dismiss elected governments, a power used four times in less than a decade. The amendment significantly strengthened the position of the Prime Minister relative to the President, restoring a more genuinely parliamentary system of government. This shift was later reversed temporarily under President Pervez Musharraf before being permanently reinforced by the 18th Amendment in 2010.

The 17th Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 2003, under President Pervez Musharraf, largely to provide legal cover for changes he had made through the Legal Framework Order following his 1999 coup. It reinstated a version of the presidential power to dissolve the National Assembly, similar to the earlier Article 58(2)(b), and allowed Musharraf to simultaneously hold the posts of President and army chief. The amendment was passed with the support of a coalition of religious parties, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, in exchange for various concessions. Its controversial provisions were later reversed by the 18th Amendment in 2010, which restored a more purely parliamentary structure.

The 18th Amendment, which devolved significant powers to the provinces, was passed in 2010, under the coalition government led by the Pakistan Peoples Party and President Asif Ali Zardari, marking one of the most far-reaching reworkings of the 1973 Constitution. It abolished the concurrent legislative list, transferring numerous subjects entirely to provincial jurisdiction, and renamed the North-West Frontier Province as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The amendment also removed the president's power to dissolve the National Assembly unilaterally, restoring a fully parliamentary system of governance. It is widely regarded as a landmark achievement in strengthening provincial autonomy and federal democracy in Pakistan.

The 18th Amendment abolished the Concurrent Legislative List, a category of subjects under the 1973 Constitution on which both the federal government and the provinces could legislate. Its removal in 2010 transferred numerous areas, including education, health, agriculture and environment, entirely to provincial jurisdiction, significantly expanding provincial autonomy. This shift was accompanied by revisions to the National Finance Commission Award formula, increasing the share of resources allocated to the provinces. The abolition of the Concurrent List remains one of the most consequential elements of the 18th Amendment, fundamentally reshaping Pakistan's federal structure of governance.

The 19th Amendment mainly dealt with the Judicial Commission for appointment of judges, passed in 2011 to refine the judicial appointments process introduced a year earlier by the 18th Amendment following objections from the judiciary. It adjusted the composition and procedures of the Judicial Commission and the Parliamentary Committee responsible for confirming judicial nominations to the superior courts. The amendment was passed relatively quickly in response to concerns that the original 18th Amendment provisions gave Parliament excessive influence over judicial appointments, potentially undermining judicial independence. It reflects the ongoing tension in Pakistan's constitutional history between legislative oversight and an independent judiciary.

The 21st Amendment, passed in 2015, established special military courts mainly to try terrorism cases, enacted in the aftermath of the devastating Army Public School attack in Peshawar in December 2014, which killed over 140 people, mostly children. The amendment allowed military courts to try civilians accused of terrorism-related offences for a two-year period, a controversial measure that drew criticism from human rights organisations concerned about due process and military overreach into civilian justice. Parliament later extended the military courts' mandate through subsequent amendments, reflecting continued reliance on this mechanism amid ongoing security challenges. The 21st Amendment remains one of the most debated constitutional changes in Pakistan's recent history, balancing security concerns against civil liberties.

The 25th Amendment, passed in 2018, merged the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ending the tribal areas' distinct semi-autonomous status that had persisted since British colonial rule under the Frontier Crimes Regulation. The merger extended Pakistan's regular judicial and administrative systems, along with constitutional fundamental rights, to the former tribal districts for the first time. It followed years of advocacy from local political movements and was seen as a significant step toward mainstreaming a historically marginalised region long affected by militancy and underdevelopment. The amendment also allocated increased development funds to the newly merged districts to address decades of relative neglect.