An Analysis of the Constitutional Crisis in Pakistan

(1958-1969)

Yasmeen Yousif Pardesi∗

Abstract

Since Pakistan’s independence, many Constitutional problems have stemmed

from the role of the army in the state. The growing strength of the army and the
corresponding weakening of political parties have made the army the prime
political force in the country. On October 7, 1958, President Iskander Mirza
abrogated the Constitution and declared Martial Law in the country. This was
the first of many military regimes to mar Pakistan’s history. With this step, the
Constitution of 1956 was abrogated, ministers were dismissed, Central and
Provincial Assemblies were dissolved and all political activities were banned.
General Muhammad Ayub Khan, the then Commander-in-Chief of the armed
forces, became the Chief Martial Law Administrator. The parliamentary system
in Pakistan came to an end. Within three weeks of assuming charge on October
27, 1958, Iskander Mirza was ousted by General Ayub Khan, who then declared
himself President. Ayub Khan set up a Constitution Commission which was not
only given the responsibility to make recommendations on the future
Constitution, but was also to examine the causes of failure of parliamentary
government in Pakistan. Ayub Khan was not satisfied with the findings of this
commission. The 1962 Constitution was very different from the
recommendation of the Constitution Commission, as Ayub Khan favored a
presidential form of government. The 1962 Constitution was promulgated on
March 1. This ended the three-and-a-half-year Martial Law regime of Ayub
Khan. A civilian constitutional government under Ayub Khan replaced his
previous military regime. This paper will provide an analysis of the
constitutional crises in Pakistan during the period from 1958 to 1969, first
Martial Law, pre-requisites of parliamentary system, Ayub Khan’s Basic
Democracies, framing of 1962 Constitution, failure of democratic set-up, and his
resignation and exit from power. It also analyses the behavior of dictators and
their supporters and even opponents which legitimize unconstitutional actions
taken by the dictators.

∗
Dr. Yasmeen Yousif Pardesi, Assistant Professor, Department of Political
Science, University of Sindh, Jamshoro. Email: yousifpardesi@gmail.com
An Analysis of the Constitutional Crisis in Pakistan (1958-1969) Yasmeen Yousif Pardesi

Keywords: Constitution, Ayub Khan, Basic Democracies, Pakistan

An Account of Constitutional Crises

Iskandar Mirza had taken over as Acting Governor-General of Pakistan

in August 1955 when Ghulam Muhammad became unwell. He was
confirmed as fourth and last Governor-General of Pakistan on October 4,
1955 and then on the adoption of the Constitution 1956, he assumed the
office of the first President of Pakistan on 23 March 1956. He had
publicly voiced his conviction that religion and politics ought to be kept
quite separate, and that some sort of 'controlled' democracy - an
executive appointed for a fixed term and not dependent for its existence
on a shifting and uncertain parliamentary majority was the best form of
polity to aim at.1

The struggle for Independence during the British period was almost
synonymous with the struggle for responsible parliamentary institutions.
On independence of Pakistan, a full-fledged parliamentary government
started to work. Lawyers and most of the members of both the
Constituent Assemblies of Pakistan were trained in parliamentary pattern
of Government. The Constitution-makers of the country therefore framed
the Constitution of 1956 on the basis of parliamentary system. 2

At the time of the enforcement of the Constitution of 1956, the country

had great expectations from the trained administrators set at top positions
and it was hoped that the influence of professional politicians would
curtail and consequently the real needs of the people will be attended to
by suppressing corruption, undertaking agrarian reforms, and promoting
economic development. Unfortunately, Chaudhri Mohammad Ali, who
successfully unified West Pakistan and induced the Assembly to accept
and ratify the draft Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,
could not stand the political intrigues he was faced with.

Pre-requisites of Parliamentary System

A parliamentary system establishes a high degree of social and political

awareness, universal education, and an advanced system of mass
communication for speedy and accurate dissemination of information on
a wide variety of themes of individual and general interests. In the
absence of these pre-requisites, people cannot be expected to exercise
their right of vote in the context of broad national policies.

Educated people with enlightened approaches are the first condition for
the success of parliamentary system. An opposition of the same caliber
must be there to watch the administration as well as to provide
alternative government. There should be a vigilant press for the

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support of the Government on the merits of issues and to expose its

weakness whenever desirable.

Unfortunately Pakistan lacked the requisites for a successful parliament.

In this country we had a limited parliamentary experience. A strong
executive authority persistently influenced the parliamentary system. The
government and the Governor-General always held special powers. In a
parliamentary set up the Legislature has to sustain and control the
executive but Parliament in Pakistan was not allowed to function
independently. It could never survive from its subservient position, and
always felt that it was only an interim body. The story of the
parliamentary era would have been different if the Legislature could
attain its proper place in Pakistan.

Cabinets were frequently installed and removed with no regard to the

Legislature. The choice of Liaquat Ali Khan as the first Prime Minister
did not spring from the Constituent Assembly. The second cabinet (of
Nazimuddin) was also not an option of the Legislature. In fact, it was the
President who changed the cabinets.

Political parties in Pakistan were not developed on sound basis. The

Muslim League, which led Pakistan Movement in the 1940’s, declined
rapidly after 1947. Formation of Opposition parties were deplored and
discouraged by the persons in key positions of the Government. After
assassination of Liaquat Ali Khan, there was no competent parliamentary
leadership. This situation encouraged the politicians to indulge in
intrigues and conspiracies while the economic affairs of the country were
heading for the worst.
The Constitution of 1956 promulgated on 23rd March 1956 was said to
be a document of despair - not a Constitution but a hotchpotch of alien
concepts, which had already brought enough confusion and chaos to the
country. The promulgation of this Constitution gave new inputs to the
political leaders, parties, cliques and coteries. The Minister shall serve
during the pleasure of the President – under the garb of this clause of the
Constitution, the President lskander Mirza dismissed Ministries after
Ministries both at the Center and in the provinces at his sweet will. To
keep himself in absolute position he used the Constitution to promote
political intrigues and bargaining.

Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy appointed as Prime Minister in 1958, was

a powerful person. The country expected much from him, and he
appropriately declared that, our problems are vast and intricate, and
many of them need speedy solution. It can never be attained unless we
allow free play of democratic processes and uphold the Constitution in
letter and in spirit, and ensure the rule of law…we must have a clean
administration and clean politics. But, unfortunately he was soon asked
to resign and was hence unable to implement his plans. Suhrawardy was

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in favor of the National Assembly taking democratic decisions by the

vote. The President who rather forced Suhrawardy to resign did not
accede to his democratic proposal. The difference between the earlier
outright dismissal of Khwaja Nazimuddin in 1953 and effective
elimination of Suhrawardy in 1958 was only one of the various methods.
Thus Iskander Mirza made democracy and the Constitution itself the
victims of his political ambition.

Under these circumstances, the Muslim League declined and over-night a

new party the Republican Party emerged on the political platform. Party
indiscipline and lack of solidarity within the parties became the order of
the day. Members crossed the floor, changed their political affiliations so
freely and frequently that no one knew who belonged to which party. "A
Muslim Leaguer today Republican tomorrow; and yesterday’s 'traitor'
was tomorrow's Chief Minister”.3

The unconstitutional dismissal of Chief Minister and the Governor in

East Pakistan developed an even more serious situation. By mid of 1958,
the alarming economic conditions increased worries for the country.
Graph of foreign exchange was very low while that of foreign exchange
liabilities was on a big rise. The situation was indicative of collapse of
monetary and banking system of the country.

In this disappointing situation, the government had promised to hold

elections. The President however seemed inconsistent with this promise.
Exploiting the deficiencies in the Constitution, and having engaged
everyone in the political chaos, clearly indicated that he was awaiting a
suitable opportunity to abrogate the Constitution. On the other hand,
leaders like Khan Abdul Qayyum Khan were spoiling the situation
further. The Working Committee of the Muslim League adopted a
Resolution on 28th September that the Government would be dislodged,
if need be, by extra-constitutional methods. The Khan of Kalat, taking
advantage of the general confusion, started conspiring to secede from
Pakistan. This state of affairs worsened the complications of the
situation. To the worst, some politicians had started contacts with the
armed forces. All these developments were instigating the army for
involving in the power game, as there had arisen a question of
maintaining law and order in the country.

President Iskandar Mirza, on 7th October 1958, issued a proclamation

whereby the Constitution of 1956 was abrogated and the central and
provincial governments were dismissed.4 The National and Provincial
Assemblies were dissolved, all political parties were banned and Pakistan
was brought under its first Martial Law. President Iskandar Mirza while
abrogating the Constitution said:

“The constitution, which was brought into being on 23rd March, 1956
after so many tribulations, is unworkable. It is full of

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dangerous compromises that will soon disintegrate Pakistan internally if

the inherent malaise is not removed. To rectify them the country must
first be taken to sanity by a peaceful revolution, then it is my intention to
collect a team of patriotic persons to examine our problems in the
political field and devise a constitution more suitable to the genius of the
Muslim people. When it is ready at appropriate time it will be submitted
to the referendum of the people”.5

Iskander Mirza and Ayub Khan though working together as duo had
different views on changing issues. Ayub Khan knew that power was
only with the Army and he was ready to assert himself, while Iskander
Mirza wanted more powers as an administrator for himself. He realized
the difficulty of sharing of power and soon entered into an intense
powers struggle with General Ayub Khan. He appointed Ayub Khan as
Prime Minister to maintain a balance in the power equation and hand
picked a new cabinet. Ayub Khan who had more powers, as Chief
Martial Law Administrator was not satisfied with this set up. Taking his
colleagues and military Generals in to confidence he arrested Iskander
Mirza on October 27, 1958 and sent him in exile to Britain and himself
became sole authority in Pakistan.

On becoming President, Ayub Khan wanted to obtain maximum support

for the Constitution. The masses were to be invited to participate in the
process to be accomplished by the referendum of Basic Democrats on 14
February 1960. This process involved prominent citizens, political
groups, and the bureaucracy leaving few people to complain of having
not been consulted.6 To justify a presidential form of government, it was
necessary for Ayub Khan to describe the 1956 Constitution as a failure
and unworkable. This would pave the way for a new constitution. Ayub
Khan wanted a prestigious and respected body of persons to arrive at this
conclusion in a report formally to be submitted to him.
Ayub Khan’s Basic Democracies

The imposition of Martial law in the first week of October 1958 had its
roots in the violation of the Constitution. The consequence was chaos in
the legal institution. To overcome this chaos, the Laws Order was
introduced on October 10, 1958, which aimed at validating certain laws
to support the martial law. This new Order restored powers (including
issuance of writs of prohibition, quo warranto, habeas corpus, certiorari
and mandamus) of all the High Courts and the Supreme Court, while the
Government of Pakistan was advised to act in accordance with the late
Constitution to the possible extent. The Chief Martial Law Administrator
or anyone who exercised powers or jurisdiction under the CMLA was

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provided immunity from such writs. In the light of the new Order, no
court of law or person could question the military action and
proclamation of October 1958, the military courts or the Governors of
provinces. The Governor was to obey the directives of the President or
the Chief Martial Law administrator or any person having authority of
the Martial Law Administrator.7 In fact such parts of the 1956
Constitution were manipulated by the military regime to suit their power
and for running the day –to-day administrative affairs. The validity of
Laws (Continuance in Force) Order and imposition of martial law itself
was soon challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan. The then Chief
Justice Munir upheld the martial law and the Laws (Continuance in
Force) Order.

The process earlier started for constitutional development was reversed

due to the judgments in Dosso's and Tamizuddin Khan's cases. The
Supreme Court legitimized the martial law in haste. The cases before it
could have been decided without entering into the question of the
validity of Laws (Continuance in Force) Order. The appeals before the
Supreme Court had been pending since long before the imposition of
martial law and the validity of the Order was unnecessarily dragged into
the controversy. These appeals were heard on 13 and 14 October 1958
and decided on 27 October 1958, only a few days after the imposition of
martial law. Why could the Supreme Court not wait until somebody had
directly challenged the vires of Laws (Continuance in Force) Order or
the validity of martial law? In their unholy haste to legitimize the martial
law, the Supreme Court Judges not only undid the writ jurisdiction of the
High Courts but stripped the citizens of their fundamental rights, only to
appease the new masters of the country.

Besides, Chief Justice Munir had adopted the legal logic applicable to a
popular revolution such as the French, Russian, or Iranian revolutions to
justify a coup d'etat, which can by no stretch of the imagination be
described as a 'revolution'. He used the term 'revolution' even in his later
writings to defend his reasoning8 by posing a question: 'Could any court
having discretion in the matter, issue an enforceable writ on the 8, 9, or
10th October against the government that had been brought into
existence by the Proclamation of President Iskandar Mirza? 9 This
argument also justified his verdict in Tamizuddin Khan's case. It was not
for him to see if the verdict would be accepted. His sole duty was to
stand for what was right and to decide each case on that basis alone,
regardless of the enforceability of writs. A wrong verdict is not given
only because a correct one might not be enforced. Had he risen above
these evidently irrelevant considerations, the constitutional history of
Pakistan might have been very different.10

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An appraisal of the various actions taken by President Ayub Khan after

the 27th of October 1958 would leave no room for doubt that his object
throughout this period was to weaken all elements which had a popular
support and to perpetuate himself as a Ruler. By the 1962 Constitution,
which he was to enact in early 1962, he was successful in creating a
puppet Parliament and a band of mercenaries in the form of members of
the Electoral College to help him to continue to remain in power,
indefinitely, as a dictator.

President Ayub Khan constituted a Constitution Commission headed by

the Chief Justice of Pakistan, on February 17, 1960. Ten-member
Commission comprised experts from fields of administration, law and
civil service, which was asked to examine the causes and nature, which
led to the abrogation of the Constitution of 1956 and to submit
Constitutional proposals to give strength and stability to the government.
According to Ayub Khan, the Commission was set up because:

“It has been explained by the present President that he, as the Head of
Army was on more than one occasion asked to take over by the then
Heads of the State and still he desisted and when he did take over in
1958, he promised to restore Government after establishing the
conditions in the country and the fact that this Commission was
appointed indicates that he is going to carry out that promise.” 11

The Terms of Reference of this Commission included claim of failure of

parliamentary government, need of constitutional and administrative
changes; need of democracy based on Islamic principles of justice,
equality and tolerance; consolidation of national unity; social and
economic reforms etc. The Terms of Reference also asked the
Commission for acquiring feedback on Basic Democracies performance.
The Commission issued a Questionnaire, toured East and West Pakistan
and after interviewing 565 persons, from different walks of life, and
examining replies to the Questionnaire, submitted on April 29, 1961, an
almost, unanimous report – only one of the members had shown his
dissent.

The Commission, in its Report, recommended a Presidential form of

Government. The structure of the Constitution was to be Federal a
bicameral Legislature at the Center and unicameral Legislatures in the
two Provinces of West and East Pakistan. The Upper House at the Center,
to be known as the Senate, was to consist of 48 Members, 40 elected by
an Electoral College consisting of the Lower House at the Center and the
two Provincial Houses on the basis of parity, i.e., 20 from each Province
and 8 to be nominated by the President from certain categories. The
Lower House at the Center, to be known as the House of

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the People, was to consist of 200 Members to be elected on the principle

of parity, each Province electing half the number. The term of the Senate
was being six years and of the House of the People four years, like that
of the President and the Vice-President. The Legislatures in the two
Provinces were to consist of 310 Members, including 10 seats reserved
for women. The term of the Provincial Legislatures was also to be four
years. In West Pakistan, the seats, then allotted to the various areas were
to continue for a period of 10 years.

The Commission, for the purpose of elections, suggested a restricted

franchise instead of adult franchise, on the basis of property and literacy
qualifications to be determined on the recommendations of a Franchise
Committee to be set up after the new Constitution came into force. The
Commission recommended that on the basis of restricted franchise, the
President, the Vice-President and Members of the House of the People
and the two Legislative Assemblies of East and West Pakistan should be
directly elected. To avoid delay in the elections, the Commission
recommended that the Provincial Assemblies should conduct elections of
the House of the People and members of the Basic Democracies and that
the first term of these newly elected Members should be only of three
years. Having accepted the Basic Democrats as the electorate for election
of the President only for the first term of 3 years, the Commission
recommended that the then President should continue in office for that
period without offering himself for election.12

The report was submitted in April 1961, but the President being
otherwise busy in strengthening his position kept it in cold storage and
published it long after the 1962 Constitution had been framed. Some of
the contents of the report, however, leaked out. People were becoming
impatient and were clamoring (through not very openly because of
Military Rule) for restoration of the democratic institutions and return of
the Civilian Government.
It was in the winter of 1961, that the Judges of West Pakistan High Court
requested the President for a meeting. This meeting was attended by
almost, all the Judges of the High Court and from the President’s side by
him and his Foreign Minister. In the meeting, one of the Judges pointed
out that it was time that the rule of law was re-established and that
elections should be held as early as possible to restore democratic
institutions. It was pointed out that in case of indirect election through
the members of the Basic Democracies, fresh elections of Basic
Democracies are held, so that the members elected should have a
mandate from the electorate. Before the President could reply, the
Foreign Minister intervened and said that they were committed to allow
the present Basic Democrats their full term and, therefore they would
form the Electoral College, in case the elections were held indirectly.

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The Commission also summarized the causes of failure of Parliamentary

Government as follows:

Lack of proper elections and defects in the late Constitution.

Undue interference by the Heads of State with Ministries and political

parties and by the Central Government with the functioning of the
governments in the provinces.

Lack of leadership resulting in lack of well ordered and disciplined

parties, the general lack of character in the politicians and their undue
interference in the administration.

In spite of all these arguments, there was a difference of opinion whether

the 1956-Constitution, which was of Parliamentary pattern, was a
success or failure. Some argued that it failed, but most of the old
politicians were of the opinion that the system was not given a fair trial
and not experimented with honesty and sincerity. The party-in-power at
the Center was desperate to maintain its position instead of giving a fair
trial to the parliamentary institutions. According to A.K. Brohi, the report
was not implemented in its original shape and recommendations were
modified during the cabinet meeting.13 He further said that, “President
rejected all the recommendations made by the Constitutional
Commission, accepted only one namely that the constitution should be
Presidential in form”.14

Framing of the Constitution of 1962

The Constitution Commission submitted its report on Mary 6, 1961,
which was not considered satisfactory by General Ayub Khan and it was
re-drafted which was entirely different from the earlier report. It was
promulgated on June 8, 1962 as a Constitution of Pakistan having 250
Articles 12 Parts and 3 Schedules proposing a Presidential system with
absolute power for the President of Pakistan. He was to hold office for
five years and could be re-elected. His important powers were
appointment of Chiefs of Armed Forces. The country was to have
unicameral legislature called the National Assembly having 156
members and 6 women. Seats for both wings of the country were equal
and system of Basic Democracy and indirect elections were proposed.
According to this the President was to be elected by 80000 basic
democrats, which was increased to 120000 by a latter amendment to the
constitution.

The executive was the part of legislature and the President could use his
veto in the law making process and issue ordinances if the assembly was
not in session, which he could also, dissolve during emergency. The
government was to be federal in nature and federal list consisted of all-
important powers on which the provinces had no

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authority. The governors in the provinces had the same powers as the
President at the centre, the Islamic clauses were a part of the constitution
but the state was named the Republic of Pakistan. Some changes were
made in the nomenclature as well as the Islam and not Quran and Sunnah
were used to express the spirit of the Constitution. The constitution also
upheld the rights of the citizen but the Judiciary was not independent in
the sense that all appointments in the Supreme and High Courts at the
apex level were in the hands of the President. The President could also
remove a Judge from his position on grounds of misbehavior or health.
Urdu and Bengali were national languages while all official business was
to be in English. The constitution retained its flexible nature and could be
amended by two-third votes of the National Assembly with the approval
of the President. The Assembly amended the constitution eight times
during its life of seven years.

Main Features of the 1962 Constitution

The following were the main features of the 1962 Constitution:

Preamble

The Constitution began with a preamble, which asserted in its first

paragraph that the sovereignty over the entire universe belonged to
Almighty God alone and that the authority exercisable by the people
within the limits prescribed by God is a sacred trust.

Quaid-i-Azam’s declaration that Pakistan would be democratic state

based on Islamic principles of social justice as wished by the people, as
well as the principles of democracy, equality, tolerance and social justice
as having been enunciated by Islam to which the Muslims of Pakistan,
individually and collectively, should be able to order their lives in
accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the
Holy Quran and Sunnah. These parts of the preamble also included
declarations regarding the safeguarding of the legitimate rights of non-
Muslims, and the preservation of fundamental human rights.

Fundamental Rights

The 1962 Constitution granted certain fundamental rights to the citizens,

which were non-justifiable. Later on, by the first amendment through the
Constitution Act 1963 Fundamental Rights were made justifiable, as they
were incorporated in the 1956 Constitution.15

President and His powers

The 1962 Constitution provided Presidential form of government. The

President was the Head of the Executive as well as of the State and
enjoyed extensive powers. The Constitution provided that the President

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could be removed from his office before the expiry of his term on the
grounds of gross misconduct and physical or mental inability. For that
purpose a resolution was to be tabled by one-third (52) members of the
Assembly and would not be carried out unless three-quarters (177) of the
members voted in its favor.16 Further the Constitution provided that in
case the resolution failed to obtain desirable majority of the half of the
members; the originators of the resolution were to lose their seats in the
National Assembly.17

The Legislature

The central legislature of Pakistan consisted of one House known as the

National Assembly. There were one hundred and fifty members of the
National Assembly, of whom one half were to be elected from the East
other half from West Pakistan by the Electoral College. Six seats were
reserved for women, 3 for each province who were elected by the
members of the National Assembly of their respective provinces. 18 The
National Assembly was elected for a term of 5 years unless the Head of
the State prematurely dissolved it. The Assembly was to meet twice in a
year and one session had to be held in Dacca.19

The President had powers to dissolve the National Assembly at any time
but he could not to do so (a) when expired time of the life of National
Assembly was less than 120 days (b) a notice for the impeachment of the
President was given to the Speaker (c) a resolution of impeachment had
been voted upon.20 When the offices of the President, the Speaker and
the Deputy Speaker were vacant, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
was to summon the Assembly.
When the President had dissolved the Assembly he had to vacate the
office thereupon. If a conflict arose between the President and the central
legislature; the President was to refer the matter to the Electoral College
for a referendum. When the National Assembly passed a bill, it was to be
presented to the President for assent, and the President was to give his
assent within 30 days of presentation. If the President did not assent for
want of amendments in the bill, he was to refer the bill to the Assembly
for reconsideration and if the bill was again passed by Assembly by the
majority of not less than 2/3 of the total number of members, the
President was to assent to the bill or refer the same to a referendum after
which the bill would become a law.21

Federal Judiciary

The Supreme Court

The Constitution provided for a Supreme Court of Pakistan consisting of

a Chief Justice and as many other Judges as were

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determined by law, and in the absence of such law, by the President. 22

The Chief Judge of the Supreme Court was to be appointed by the

President and other judges by the President after consultation with the
chief judge.23 A person could not be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme
Court unless he was: (a) citizen of Pakistan (b) he had served as a Judge
of High Court for a period of 5 years, and (c) he had experience of not
less than 15 years as an advocate of a High Court in Pakistan.

The Supreme Court had appellate, advisory and original jurisdictions. 24

Under appellate jurisdiction the Supreme Court could hear and determine
appeals, judgments, decrees, orders or sentences of the High Courts.
Under advisory jurisdiction it was to consider the question referred by
the President and was to suggest solution to the President. Under original
jurisdiction if there was dispute between Central and Provincial
Government at both the sides the Court was to pronounce declaratory
judgments.

Supreme Judicial Council

The concept of Supreme Judicial Council was a brainchild of the 1962

Constitution makers.25 In case of complaint of incapacity to perform
duties due to physical/mental problem on part of a judge of Supreme
Court or High Court, the President was empowered to refer the matter to
the Supreme Judicial Council for inquiry. And on recommendation of the
Inquiry, he was empowered to remove that judge.
Provincial Structure

Governor

Under the Constitution of 1962 there was a governor of each

province (East and West wing) who was the executive head of the
province. He was to be appointed by the President. 26

Each Governor had a Council of Ministers composed of members of the

Provincial Assembly. The Governor and his Council of Ministers both
were subjected to the directions of the President in the performance of
their duties.

Provincial Assembly

Each Provincial Assembly consisted of 155 members of whom the

members of the Electoral College of the Province elected 150

and five seats were reserved for women who were elected by the
members of their respective provincial assemblies. 27 The Speaker, the
Deputy Speaker and members of the Assembly

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enjoyed all the privileges available to the members of the National

Assembly. A Provincial Assembly was elected for a term of five years. 28
The Governor was empowered to dissolve the Provincial Assembly with
the concurrence of the President.

The Legislative powers were distributed between the Center and the
Provinces. The Central legislature had the power to legislate matters
specified in the Third Schedule and the Provincial legislature like all
other matters.

Provincial Judiciary

The High Courts were regular courts of appeal and revision in the
provinces. They also exercised writ jurisdiction. The Judges of the High
Courts could hold offices until they attained the age of sixty years or
until the time they were removed on the recommendation of the Supreme
Judicial Council.

Islamic Provisions

With the adoption of the First amendment Act, 1963, the original name
of the state as the "Islamic Republic of Pakistan" was restored. The
Principles of Policy referred once more to enable Muslims individually
and collectively to order their lives in accordance with Islamic Principles
and concepts. According to Article-8 added to the Constitution, no law
repugnant to the teachings and requirements of Islam was to be made and
all existing laws were to be brought in conformity with the Islamic laws.
Article 10 prescribed that the President of the state must be a Muslim.

Under Part-X of the Constitution, Islamic institutions like Advisory

Council of Islamic Ideology and Islamic Research Institute were set up.
The former was entrusted the duty of recommending ways and means by
which Muslims of Pakistan were to order their lives in accordance with
the principles and concept of Islam. The latter was assigned the task of
research about the reconstruction of the Muslim society.

An analysis of the 1962 Constitution indicates that it created a hybrid of

Presidential and parliamentary kind of franchise. It were these 80,000
electors in all, who became the Electoral College responsible for electing
a President and the members of the Provincial and National Assemblies
as well. Thus the elections of the President, the National Assembly and
the Provincial Assemblies were indirect.29 Further, the Electoral College
was given powers of local self-government. In that capacity the electors
were called Basic-Democrats responsible for the administration of the
affairs of local self-government, at the Union Council, District Council
and Provincial Council levels. Generous funds were placed at their
disposal with the result that the Basic-Democrats

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began to misuse and misappropriate these funds. As long as they

supported the nominees of the ruling party, they enjoyed immunity, but
as they began to flex their muscles, they were threatened with criminal
misappropriation of money. This was a case of the use of the stick and
the carrot. The stick was used to punish them with prosecution and the
carrot was offered to eat if they obliged the people in power. That is why
the masses raised a great deal of hue and cry, and the 1962 constitution
came under bitter criticism.

The constitution was not based on the theory of separation of powers i.e.
the President, the Legislature and the Judiciary was not independent of
one other. The constitution was not described as the Constitution of the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Again the 1962 Constitution professedly
provided a Federal structure, but in fact it had provided a unitary form of
government. The government established under the 1962 Constitution
was highly centralized and authoritarian. It provided one legislative list
wherein the authority of the Central government was specified and
residuary powers were left to the provinces. 30 The subjects given to the
Center included Defense, External Affairs, Inter-provincial Trade and
Commerce, National Economic Planning and National Economic
Coordination, Currency, Foreign Exchange, Central Banking, Insurance,
Nuclear Energy, Mineral Oil and Natural Gas, Industry Preventive
Detention. Furthermore, the Central Government was empowered to step
into any field outside that list. There was no provincial autonomy
whatsoever because the Center repeatedly made inroads into Provincial
and Residuary fields. G.W. Choudhry has rightly observed that, "The
crux of the whole relationship between the Center and the provinces in
Pakistan today lies in the financial sphere. Federalism implies an
allocation not only of legislative power but also of financial power." 31
The popular dissatisfaction against the 1962 Constitution and
authoritarian governance by Ayub Khan led to countrywide street
agitation in the last quarter of 1968 while the Ayub regime was busy
celebrating the decade of his rule as the Decade of Development. The
major political parties demanded, inter alia, resignation of Ayub Khan,
abrogation of the 1962 Constitution, and restoration of the parliamentary
system of government. They also demanded the dismemberment of the
'One Unit' and restoration of four provinces in West Pakistan. From East
Pakistan came the old demand for provincial autonomy and
representation on population basis in the national legislature. Agitations
created political chaos in the country and no compromise formula could
be evolved to overcome the crisis. In view of the deteriorating law and
order situation, Ayub Khan resigned from office and handed over power

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An Analysis of the Constitutional Crisis in Pakistan (1958-1969) Yasmeen Yousif Pardesi

to the Army Chief, General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, who

abrogated the constitution and declared martial law on 25 March 1969.

There was a sharp disagreement amongst the leaders over the shape of
the future constitution. Twenty-two years after Independence, the country
was again faced with a constitutional dilemma. The basic issues such as
maximum provincial autonomy, disintegration of the 'One-Unit', and
representation on the basis of population, were again revived. These were
the major obstacles in constitution making during 1947 to 1956, and
delayed the framing of the 1956 Constitution. When the Constitution was
enforced in 1956, people thought that constitutional differences had been
resolved forever. But now the leaders were up against the old problems
again.

In a nutshell, introduction of the Constitution of 1962 became a strong

base for resignation of Field Marshall Muhammad Ayub Khan from
power.

Conclusion

The period between 1958 and 1969 is marked with the martial law rule.
Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy was a determined Prime Minister (1958)
who wanted to see a strong democratic government in the country. A
parliamentary system demands educated, and enlightened voters, which
unfortunately this country lacked at that time and the same deficiency
persists even today. Iskander Mirza asked Suhrawardy for resignation,
and managed somehow to dismiss the latter from the office of Prime
Minister. Constitution and democracy once again fell victim to the
dictatorial attitude on part of the President and his political ambitions.
The Muslim League once very popular at the time of independence of
Pakistan had lost its popularity. Other politicians also did not enjoy trust
of people. The nation was already deprived of Mr. Jinnah and Liaquat Ali
Khan in 1948 and 1951, respectively. The political chaos gave chances
for the non-political forces to establish strong. Moreover, there were
unconstitutional dismissals of Chief Minister and Governor in East
Pakistan. By mid of 1958, economic conditions including low foreign
exchange were indicative of collapse of monetary and banking system in
the country. However, the government took no remedial measures.

When martial law was promulgated in 1958, the Constitution of 1956

was abrogated. Later, Gen. Ayub Khan transformed this Constitution into
Constitution of 1962 on the plea that the Constitution of 1956 had been a
failure. However, the very spirit of the Constitution was changed. The
parliamentary system of government provided in the 1956 was given the
outlook of a presidential system where the President was handed
immense powers over the parliament. The ‘constitutional’ powers gave
control to the President and his executive over the

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An Analysis of the Constitutional Crisis in Pakistan (1958-1969) Yasmeen Yousif Pardesi

legislature. The military rulers issued Orders to get immunity from any
writs. No courts of law or person was allowed to question the military
action, proclamation of martial law, the provincial Governors or the
military courts. It is not difficult to understand the situation that the
judiciary was going through. In order to prolong his rule, General Ayub
Khan introduced Basic Democracies.

The President headed the state as well as the Government. He had the
authority to appoint Provincial Governors, Federal Ministers, Advocate
General, Auditor General and Chairmen and Members of various
administrative commissions. As the Supreme Commander of the Armed
Forces of Pakistan, the appointment of the chiefs of the forces was also
within his powers. The President was also involved in the appointment of
Chief Justice and other judges of the Supreme Court.

The authoritarian governance by Ayub Khan under the 1962 Constitution

caused countrywide street agitation against Ayub Khan towards the end
of 1968. Supported by this agitation, the major political parties
demanded resignation of Ayub Khan, restoration of parliamentary system
and restoration of four provinces in West Pakistan. The East Pakistan
demanded provincial autonomy and representation in the national
legislature on the basis of population. Eventually, the deteriorating law
and order situation forced Ayub Khan to resign from office. He, however,
handed the power to yet another military general Yahya Khan who
abrogated the constitution and declared martial law on March 25, 1969.
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Notes & References

1
President’s Order (Post-Proclamation) No: 1 of 1958, Laws (Continuance in
Force) Order, 1958, PDL 1958 Central Statutes 497.

2
Hamid Khan, Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan (Karachi: Oxford
University Press, 2001), 171.

3
Ayesha Jalal, The State of Martial Rule, 1990 (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 1990), 260-62.

4
Manzoorduddin Ahmed, Pakistan: The Emerging State (Karachi: The Allies
Corporation, 1966), 209.

5
Daily Dawn, Karachi: October 8, 1958.

6
Hamid Khan, Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan, op.cit., 224.

7
President’s Order (Post-Proclamation), op.cit.

8
Muhammad Munir, Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Lahore: All
Pakistan Legal Decisions, 1965), 50-51.

9
Nasir Husain Chudhri, Chief Justice Muhammad Munir: His life, writings and
judgments (Lahore: Research Society of Pakistan, University of the Punjab,
1983), 21.
Ibid.

Report of the Constitution Commission, 31.

Report of the Constitution Commission, 78-80.

Interview with A. K. Brohi, Supreme Court Advocate, Daily Dawn, February 22,
1985

Ibid.

Government of Pakistan, The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

1962, (Karachi: Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs, 1968), Articles 1 to
12, Part-II

Abdul Sattar Pingar “Office of the President of Pakistan,” Law Journal, Vol.

14, No. 1, (1966): 59

Government of Pakistan, The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

1962, op.cit., Articles 13.

Ibid., Article 20 (2).

Ibid., Article-22 (4).

Ibid., Article-23.

Ibid., Article-27.

Ibid., Article-49.
Ibid., Article-50.

Ibid., Article-57, 58 & 59.

Ibid., Article-128.

Ibid., Article-66, 80.

According to the Constitution 8th Amendment Act 1967 the number of members
was increased up to 256, Article-71.

Government of Pakistan, The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1962,

op.cit., Articles 72.

Manzooruddin Ahmed, Contemporary Pakistan (Karachi: Royal Book Company,

1982), 9.

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An Analysis of the Constitutional Crisis in Pakistan (1958-1969) Yasmeen Yousif Pardesi

G. W. Choudhry, Constitutional Development in Pakistan (London: Law and

Brydone, 1969), 222.

Ibid., 222
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