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The Constitution of 1973
of Pakistan envisaged a parliamentary system of
government, with the balance of power tilted favorably
towards the Prime Minister. The President could not exercise
his powers without the concurrence of the Prime Minister.
The 8th Constitutional Amendment, however, altered the form
of the Constitution drastically. Passed by the Senate on
November 14, 1985, the 8th Amendment tampered with almost 19
clauses of the Constitution and brought the office of the
President of Pakistan almost at par with that of the Prime
Minister.
The President was given the right to
nominate the Prime Minister, governors of the provinces,
judges of the High and Supreme Courts including the Chief
Justice. Thus, the democratically elected Prime Minister
became subservient to the President.
The President was to act on the advice of
the Prime Minister. He was empowered to use his unlimited
constitutional powers and was liable to be counseled by the
Premier. The President had the power to be informed about
the decisions relating to the administrative affairs of the
federation and proposals of legislation. The President could
ask the Prime Minister to get a vote of confidence from the
Assembly, issue ordinances, set date for the elections for
the National Assembly and appoint caretaker government. The
President had power of appointing service chiefs and other
important federal officers. He could also call a referendum
on an issue of great importance.
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President Ghulam Ishaq Khan exercised his power under
the 8th Amendment to dismiss Benazir Bhutto in 1990, and
Nawaz Sharif in 1993 |
However, the most controversial power
awarded to the office of the President was under the Article
58(2) b, which was the power of the dissolution of the
National Assembly on his own discretion.
According to the proponents of this
clause, due to Post-Constitutional deadlocks in the country,
it was necessary to vest this authority in the President so
that in case of a political crisis the Assembly could be
dissolved and new elections could be held and a Martial Law
could be avoided. The Article 58(2) b changed the entire
complexion of the constitution .The constitution was
transformed from a Parliamentary system into a Presidential
one. This amendment was like the proverbial sword of
Damocles for the successive governments. On four occasions
since the passing of 58(2) b the National Assemblies were
dissolved. However, the dissolution of the Assembly by
President Zia-ul-Haq in 1988, President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in
1990 and in 1993, and President Farooq Leghari in 1996, are
subject to a lot of speculation. Other clauses amended by
the 8th Amendment dealt with the office of the Prime
Minister, Senate, and Governors. The Article 51 increased
the number of the National Assembly seats to 207 from 200.
The number of the Senate seats were increased to 87 from 63
under Article 59. The 8th Amendment also indemnified the
entire President’s orders, ordinances, martial law
regulations, martial law orders, including the referendum
orders made between July 5, 1977 and September 13, 1985.
Eighth Amendment is considered as a
landmark in the Constitutional history of Pakistan. It had
not only altered the very form of the Constitution, from
purely Parliamentary to semi-Presidential but has also
changed the constitutional and political history of the
country. |
