Constitution crises in Pakistan

Constitutional crises in Pakistan 

The constitution is a set of basic laws and frameworks for the administration and training of political power and legal authority.it distributes power equally in the country. 

The constitution has priority over common regulations and cannot be shifted like common laws. The Government Act (1935) was revised and promulgated in Pakistan. The elected members in the 1946 elections made the first Constituent Assembly that faced terrible situations. 

Major Issues 

The major issue that the constitution assembly faced is discussed below.

• Federalism 
• Representation S
• separate or Joint Electorate 
• National Language controversy
• Parliamentary/ Presidential foam of government
•  Pakistan would be Islamic or secular

Federalism

Federalism is meant to adjust such kind of diversity strengthening the unity of the state. Pakistan also faced the issue of federalism after its inception. the major issue with Pakistan was that it comprised of two wings; East Pakistan and West Pakistan. east Pakistan which is known as Bangladesh now days had more population and less territory and it was administratively one wing while west Pakistan had less population with large a large territory and had four wings. 

Division of power 

 It was the toughest issue how the power would be allocated between the Centre and the Provinces. Pakistan inherited a system of Strong Centre from the Britishers But the provinces were demanding more Autonomy and Provincial rights. Unity in the country was weak so in the 1956 constitutions, a strong central government was preferred.

Representation 

Representation at the federal level was another conflicting issue because both wings were different in size and population. In west Pakistan there was diversity and it was also different in size and population. While east Pakistan was one unit, it had a large population with the insufficient territory. All these issues made controversial the issue of division of provisional autonomy.

To deal with the issues Constituent Assembly formed a Basic Principle Committee on March 12, 1949. The primary duty of this committee was to formulate a set of basic laws for the forthcoming constitution of Pakistan.

-First Basic principle committee

According to this committee document, two houses of the parliament were proposed. The lower house was to be elected based on population and the upper house was to be selected based on equal representation for all the provinces of Pakistan. Equal powers were recommended for both Houses. 

-The outcome of the report 

.No remark of National Language was formulated. 

.East Bengal opposed this report and Liaqat Ali Khan revoked it. 

-2nd principle committee 

The second principle committee present its report, in which it recommended equal powers and status to both houses. Moreover it recommended equal representation for East and West Pakistan. The principle of equality was not appreciated.

- Muhammad Bogar's formula 

Muhammad Ali Bogra presents a procedure to deal with constitutional problems. He introduced a bicameral legislature. According to which in the upper house there would be equal representation for the five wings of Pakistan and in the lower house there would be given representation of the base population.

-The outcome of the Bogra formula 

It was greeted in both parts of the country. The principle of equality and representation of the population was admired. 

It also solved the crisis of national language by suggesting Urdu and Bengali as national languages. 

-One unit in west Pakistan1955

One Unit of West Pakistan was organized, and the provinces of West Pakistan would be amalgamated into one unit to establish parity between the two parts of the country. 

-separate/joint electorate  

the minorities of west Pakistan did not favor a separate electorate after independence. Religious elements favored this as a part of a lineage. West Pakistan favored separate and east joint electorates.

The national language controversy 

 Jinnah the founder of the country after the inception of Pakistan declared that Urdu would be Pakistan's national language. e each province of Pakistan would use its language. However, east Pakistan stood against it and demand that Bengal should declare the national language of East Pakistan because the majority speaks Bengali there.

Parliamentary/ presidential

The majority support a parliamentary form of government but after the intervention of the military presidential form of government was implemented in Pakistan under the 1962 constitution.

Islamic   or secular state 

After the inception of Pakistan, there emerged a debate on whether the state would be Islamic or secular. Minorities and some segments of society were in favor of the secular state. but the state was made in the name of Islam so most of the people support an Islamic state. The Constituent Assembly took time to define the accurate connection between the state and Islam.