Q: Give an account of political and constitutional development from 1947 to

1956 in Pakistan?

Subject: Pakistan-CSS-PMS
By: Mr. Imran Zahoor
PhD Scholar of IR
WhatsApp: 0321-4800309

13 September, 2024

Introduction

 Constitutional development refers to the process of establishing, evolving,

and improving the systems and principles that govern a country. It includes
the creation, implementation, and modification of a constitution.

 The aim of constitutional development is to provide a framework for the

exercise of power, the protection of individual rights, and the distribution of
powers among different branches of government, to provide a stable and
legitimate political order, and the establishment of mechanisms for
accountability and the constitutional supremacy.

 Political development, on the other hand, refers to the broader changes and
advancements in the political system of a country. It includes the development
of political institutions, such as the executive, legislative, and judicial
branches of government, as well as the political parties, electoral systems,
evolution of political ideologies, and the engagement of citizens in the
political process.
 Constitutional and political development are closely linked with each other. A
well-developed constitution establishes the legal and institutional
framework for political processes, while political developments can trigger
constitutional changes and shape the interpretation and enforcement of
constitutional provisions. Both processes are essential for the functioning of a
democratic and stable political system.

 Pakistan came into being on August 14, 1947, as a result of the division of India.
At the time of independence, Pakistan faced significant political and
constitutional challenges.

 The new country had to establish its own system of government and constitution,
while also dealing with issues related to refugees, territorial disputes, and
economic development.

 This period from 1947 to 1956 was marked by several important political and
constitutional developments that shaped the course of Pakistan's history.

Political and Constitutional Development from 1947 to 1956 in

Pakistan

1-The Interim Constitution:

 The new state of Pakistan initially adopted the Government of India Act, 1935 as
its interim constitution. However, the Act was modified to reflect the new
country's status as a separate entity.
 The Governor-General of Pakistan, appointed by the British Crown, was the
head of state, while the Prime Minister was the head of government.
 The Act provided for a federal system of government in which the central
government was responsible for matters of national importance, while the
provincial governments were responsible for matters of local importance with
limited powers.

2-Establishment of Constituent Assembly:

 The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was established on August 15, 1947. It

was created as the supreme law-making body for the new country and was
tasked with drafting a constitution for Pakistan. The Assembly consisted of 69
members initially, who were elected by the members of the provincial
assemblies.
 The first session of the Assembly was held on August 10, 1947, in Karachi,
and it was presided over by Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the first
Governor-General of Pakistan.
 The Assembly worked on several important issues, including the adoption of the
Objectives Resolution in 1949 and the drafting of the first Constitution of
Pakistan in 1956.
 The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan played a critical role in the political and
constitutional development of the country. It helped shape the fundamental
principles of the new state and laid the foundation for a democratic and
parliamentary form of government.

3-The Objectives Resolution 1949:

 The Objectives Resolution was a resolution adopted by the Constituent

Assembly of Pakistan on March 12, 1949. The resolution was presented by
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and it set out the objectives and principles for the
future constitution of Pakistan.
 The resolution declared that the structure of future constitution of Pakistan would
be based on the principles of democracy, social justice, and the equality of
all citizens, regardless of their religion, caste, language, sect or creed.
 It also emphasized the importance of Islamic principles and values in the
country's governance.
 The Objectives Resolution was a prime milestone in the history of Pakistan that
helped to shape the country's political, social, and economic policies. It also
reflected the aspirations of the people of Pakistan for a democratic, just, and
equal society.

4-First BPC Report-1950:

 The Basic Principles Committee (BPC) was a specialized committee with 24

members set up in March 1949 by Khawaja Nazimuddin on the advice of
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan.

 Sole aim of this committee was to frame proposals of the future constitution &
structure of legislature in Pakistan. The BPC presented its initial report to the
constituent assembly on 28 September 1950. Main features of this report were:
o The Objectives Resolution would be added in the Constitution an
integral part.
o Bicameral Legislature would be set up with an upper house consisting
of 100 members & a lower house with 400 members. Upper house to be
elected by the provincial legislature and lower house to be elected on
adult franchise. The tenure of both houses was to be 5 year.
o Head of state (President) would be elected by two houses for 5 year
working on the advice of the prime minister. President had the powers of
emergency & official appointments. Parliament can change President
by 2/3 majority.
o Legislative powers was to be divided into three lists:
  Federal list: comprising 67 subjects to legislate Provincial list:
comprising 35 items to legislate
 Concurrent list: comprising 37 items on which both central &
provincial legislatures can legislate.
o Pakistan to be a federation where Urdu was to be the national
language.
o Each province would have its own legislature elected on the basis of
adult franchise for 5 years. Provincial governor was to be elected by
the President for five years work on the advice of the chief minister.
o The Supreme Court was to be the head of judiciary consisting of a chief
justice and 2 to 6 judges. It was suggested to establish High Courts for
each province.

Criticism

 This report was severely criticized. The religious groups objected that the
report contained nothing related to Islam.
 East Pakistan protested that their majority had been denied in report by
giving equal representation for both wings in lower house.
 This report was also criticized for a strong center with vast powers on
financial matters.
 East Pakistanis condemned the proposal that made Urdu as national
language.
 On 4 October 1950, in an editorial published in the Nawa-i-Waqt, the report
was called a “Charter of People's Slavery".

5-First General Election 1951:

 The first elections were held in two stages, with the first stage taking place on
March 7, 1951, and the second stage on March 17, 1951. These elections were
conducted on the basis of universal adult suffrage.
  A total of 79 political parties and 1,860 candidates contested the elections for
310 seats in the National Assembly and 1,007 seats in the provincial
assemblies. The elections were contested by a number of political parties,
including the Muslim League, the Communist Party of Pakistan, the Pakistan
Progressive Party, and the Democratic Party.

 The Muslim League, led by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, emerged as the
largest party and won 75 seats in the National Assembly and formed the
government with Liaquat Ali Khan as the Prime Minister.

6-Bengali Language Riots:

 The Bengali Language Movement, also known as the Bengali Language

Movement of Pakistan, was a political and social movement in East Pakistan that
emerged in 1952.
 The movement aimed to promote the use of Bengali language in the official
domains of the region, which was then dominated by the Urdu-speaking elite.
 Bengali Language Movement gained momentum on 21st February 1952, when
students from the University of Dhaka and other educational institutions
organized a peaceful protest march to demand the recognition of Bengali as one
of the official language of Pakistan.
 The protest turned violent when police opened fire on the crowd, killing several
protesters and sparking widespread unrest across East Pakistan.
 The Bengali Language Movement quickly gained support from a broad range of
civil society groups, political parties, and cultural organizations. The movement
continued to mobilize demonstrations, rallies, and strikes throughout East
Pakistan.

7-Second BPC Report-1952:

 After breakneck criticisms, Liaquat Ali Khan refrained from considering the
report and invited the committee to present revised proposals & suggestions.
Second report of the BPC was presented in assembly on 22 Dec, 1952 after
modification. Main points of this report were:

 President must be Muslim with no change in powers. President would

choose a committee of Islamic scholars to ensure all legislation
according to Islamic law.
 Lower house should have 400 members with 200 elected from each
wing. More powers were given to Lower House. Upper house would
have 120 members with 60 members from East Pakistan & 60 from
West Pakistan.
 Law making would be done according to Islam. Advisory Board of five
Islamic scholars would be established.
 Religious minorities would have representation in National and
Provincial assemblies.
 The matter of official language should be settled by the Assembly.
 Criticism
o Politicians particularly from Punjab criticized the Report because
formation of the UH on the basis of representation was not acceptable.
o Religious leaders were also not satisfied with the Islamic character of
the recommended constitution especially with demand to declaration of
Ahmadis as non-Muslims.
o Official language was not suggested.

8-Dismissal of Prime Minister Khwaja Nazimuddin:

 In April 1953, the government of Prime Minister Khwaja Nazimuddin was

dismissed by Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad, following widespread
protests against the Ahmadiyya community in Pakistan.
  In February 1953, a group of anti-Ahmadiyya protesters in Lahore clashed with
police, resulting in several deaths. The protests quickly spread to other cities,
and the government struggled to contain the unrest. Governor-General Ghulam
Muhammad invoked his emergency powers to dismiss the Nazimuddin
government, which was accused of failing to maintain law and order.
 He appointed a new government led by Muhammad Ali Bogra, who was seen
as more sympathetic to the anti-Ahmadiyya cause.

9-Bogra Formula-1954:

 After becoming, Prime Minister, Muhammad Ali Bogra stated Constitution making
one of his prime target. Within 6 month of assuming power; he came out with a
Constitutional Formula known as known as Bogra Formula.

 The Bogra Formula was discussed in detail and was approved by the Assembly on
21st September, 1954. Salient Features of Bogra Formula are following:
o Proposed Bicameral Legislature with equal representation for all five
provinces in Upper House. 50 seats were reserved for Upper House.
o 300 seats for the Lower House were to be allocated among provinces on
population parity.
o 165 seats were reserved for East Pakistan, 135 for West Pakistan.
o To prevent domination by any wing, a provision was made that if the
President was from West Pakistan, the Prime Minister was to be from East
Pakistan and vice versa.
o Electoral College for the Presidential elections was the two houses and
the President was to be elected for a term of 5 years.
o In place of the Board of Ulama, Supreme Court would decide if the law was
in accordance with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah or not.

Assessment
 Unlike the two reports of the Basic Principle Committee, Bogra Formula was
appreciated by various sections of society.
 The formula considered to bridge up the gulf between the two wings of
Pakistan and would act as a source of unity for the country.
 The proposal was discussed in the Constituent Assembly for 13 days and then a
committee was set to draft the constitution.
 However, before the constitution was finalized, the Assembly was dissolved by
Ghulam Muhammad.

10-Dissolve Government:

 In August 1954, Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad dismissed the

government of Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra in Pakistan.

 The dismissal of the Bogra government was a result of political instability and
disagreements within the ruling Muslim League party.

 The Governor-General used his constitutional powers to dismiss the government

and appointed a new one headed by Chaudhry Muhammad Ali.

 This move was met with widespread criticism and protests from various political
parties and public. It led to a constitutional crisis and resulted in the adoption of
the first constitution of Pakistan in 1956, which significantly reduced the powers
of the Governor-General and established a parliamentary system of government.

11-The One Unit Scheme-1955:

 The One Unit Scheme was launched in Pakistan on October 14, 1955, by the
then Prime Minister of Pakistan, Chaudhry Mohammad Ali. The idea of the One
Unit Scheme was first proposed by the Governor General Ghulam Mohammad.
 It aimed to merge the four provinces of West Pakistan into a single administrative
unit.

 The purpose of the scheme was to reduce the political dominance of East
Pakistan. The One Unit Scheme was opposed by political parties such as the
Awami League, which called for greater autonomy for East Pakistan.

 The uniform administrative policies were ineffective in addressing needs and

issues of different regions.

 The centralization of power was perceived as diminishing regional identities

and autonomy.

 The One Unit scheme was dissolved on July 1, 1970, by Yahya Khan. But
contributed to the grievances of East Pakistan, which resulted creation of
Bangladesh in 1971.

12-Adoption of Constitution of 1956:

 The adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan took place on March 23, 1956.
The constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly, which was elected in
1955.
o The constitution established Pakistan as an Islamic republic with a
federal system of government.
o It recognized Urdu and Bengali as the national languages of Pakistan and
provided for the promotion of regional languages. The constitution
enshrined the principles of democracy, fundamental rights, and separation
of powers.
o It established a parliamentary system of government with a Prime Minister
as the head of government and a President as the head of state.
o The constitution also recognized the rights of religious minorities and
ensured their representation in the parliament.
 o The adoption of the constitution was a significant milestone in Pakistan's
history, as it provided a framework for the country's governance and
institutional structure.
o However, the constitution was abrogated in 1958 following a military coup,
and Pakistan remained under military rule for several years.

Critical Assessment

 Pakistan adopted the Government of India Act, 1935, as its interim constitution.
This decision was criticized as it was a colonial-era law that did not reflect the
needs of a newly independent country. The Constituent Assembly, elected in
1947, was divided along religious and regional lines, which made it difficult to
draft a constitution and led to delays in the constitution-making process.

 The Objectives Resolution of was criticized for placing Islam above other
religions and not providing safeguards for the rights of religious minorities. The
assassination of Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan led to political instability and a
power struggle within the ruling party, which hindered the country's progress.

 Unresolved issues of federalism have complicated the problems of governance

and political management retarded in the nation-building process and
Pakistan unfortunately didn’t create a state structure with a framework of
federation and participatory system during this era.

 The Muslim League, which was the driving force behind the creation of
Pakistan, faced significant challenges in governing the country. The party was
divided along ideological and regional lines, and its leaders were unable to build
a strong and united government.
 Failure of political administration & bureaucratic dominance caused to create
space for army into the political domain in Pakistan. The leaders were unable to
build a consensus on how to govern the country and failed to address and
manage the national and regional issues.

 The lack of a strong civil society and independent media made it difficult for
ordinary citizens to hold their leaders accountable. This led to a culture of
corruption, favoritism , nepotism & dynasticism which further weakened the
country's institutions.

 The One Unit Scheme of 1955 was criticized for reducing regional autonomy and
giving too much power to West Pakistan at the expense of other provinces. The
first constitution of Pakistan was adopted in 1956. While it was a significant
milestone, it was criticized for not providing adequate protection for minority
rights and for not defining the role of Islamic law in the country's legal system.

 The period from 1947 to 1956 was marked by political instability, which hindered
Pakistan's progress. The country's leaders were unable to build a consensus on
how to govern the country and failed to address issues such as regional
autonomy and minority rights led to military coup in 1958.

By: Mr. Imran Zahoor

PhD Scholar of IR
WhatsApp: 0321-4800309