Constitution of

1956
 BACKGROUND;
• Creation of Pakistan in 1947 was in many ways a
unique event which at the same time was bound to
have many difficulties primarily due to a consistently
hostile attitude adopted by Indian leadership.
• The Indian leaders continued to create difficulties
for Pakistan in the hope that it would not survive for
long.
• One of the most uphill task for the newly created
Pakistan was the framing of its comprehensive
Constitution.
• Both India and Pakistan at their birth adopted
Government of India Act of 1935 with
essential amendments as the interim
constitution i.e. Parliamentary and Federal in
nature.
• Quaid-e-Azam with his vast and strong
background of handling legal matters took up
this problem with urgency however gravity of
other issues compelled him to pay his
attention to other matters which delayed this
important process of constitution making.
Liaqat Ali Khan and his Objective
Resolution;
Objectives resolution was passed on 12th
March 1949 while Liaquat Ali Khan was the
Prime Minister and Khawaja Nazimuddin was
the 2nd Governor General at the time.
 BASIC PRINCIPLES COMMITTEE
• Basic principles committee was formed in1949
with Liaquat Ali khan as its head.
• Its main task was to examine important
constitutional matters.
• Published its first draft in 1950 which invited
strong criticism from East Pakistan.
• Liaquat Ali khan was assassinated in 1951 and
Khawaja Nazimuddin sworn in as second
prime minister.
• Khawaja Nazimuddin was removed in 1953
and Mohammad Ali Bogra became Prime
Minister.
• He presented Bogra Formula to overcome the
constitutional deadlock.
• Governor General Ghulam Mohammad most
undemocratically dismissed constituent
assembly on 24 October 1954 .
• Maulvi Tamiz ud Din case
• Second constituent Assembly was formed in
1955 under Chaudary Muhammad Ali and
after assuming charge as Prime Minister,
Chaudary Muhammad Ali and his team
worked hard to formulate a constitution. The
committee, which was assigned the task to
frame the Constitution, presented the draft
Bill in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on
January 9, 1956.
• The Constitution was adopted and was
enforced on March 23, 1956. With this
Pakistan’s status as a dominion ended and the
country was declared an Islamic Republic of
Pakistan. Constituent Assembly became
interim National Assembly and Governor-
General Iskander Mirza sworn in as the first
President of Pakistan.
 Features;
It consisted of 234 articles divided into
thirteen parts and six schedules. Some salient
features of the constitution are as under:
• Islamic Republic of Pakistan :
The name of the country was adopted as the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The Objectives
Resolution was included as Preamble in the
constitution.
• Directive Principles;
According to directive principles , steps were
to be taken to enable the Muslims of Pakistan
to order their lives in accordance with the
Holy Quran and Sunnah.
• Islamic Laws;
The most important Islamic provision was that
no law shall be made against Islam and
existing laws shall be brought in accordance
with Islam.
• Federal System:
The constitution provide for a federal system in
the country. The powers were divided among the
centre and the provinces. The subjects were
divided into three lists; the Federal List, the
Provincial list, and the concurrent list.
• Unicameral Legislature :
The Legislature was to consist of only one house.
Both the wings of the country were given
representation in the National Assembly. The
National Assembly consisted of 300 members.
150 members were drawn from each wing. Thus
the principle of parity was adopted.
• Parliamentary System:
Parliamentary system was adopted. According
to it President was the Head of the State and
the Prime Minister headed the government.
• Independent Judiciary :
The constitution provided for an independent
judiciary in the country. A Supreme Court was
constituted. It was headed by a Chief Justice.
The Supreme Court, interpreted the
constitution, advised the state whenever
required and decided the issues arising among
the governments.
• . The President
According to the 1956 Constitution the
President was the head of the state. He was to
be a Muslim of at least forty years age. The
tenure of his office was five years. In case of
internal or external danger he could declare
state of emergency in the country. He was
authorized to appoint the Governors, the
Judges of the Supreme Court, Auditor General
and the Advocate General.Power to release
ordinance.
• The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister was the head of the
government. He was the leader of the
Parliamentary group and was thus indirectly
elected by the people. He was authorized to
nominate his cabinet among the members of
the National Assembly. The Cabinet was
answerable to the Assembly.
• Fundamental Rights
The Constitution of 1956 provided for the
fundamental rights for the citizens of Pakistan.
• Official Language:
Urdu and Bengali were declared as national
languages.However, for the first twenty years
English was to continue as an official
language.
• Relation with Muslim Countries:
Pakistan will keep friendly relation with the
Muslim countries.
• Relation With Other Countries:
Pakistan will try to keep relation with other
states of the world
Abrogation:
On 7 October 1958,President Iskander Mirza
staged a coup detat.He abrogated the
Constitution, imposed Martial law and
appointed General M.Ayub Khan as the Chief
Martial law Administrator, however, Ayub
Khan deposed Iskander Mirza on 27 Oct 1958
And assumed the presidency that practically
formalized the militarization of the political
system in Pakistan.