Governments are comprised of three main organs. i.e. legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Composition of these three organs under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is based on the following lines:
i. THE LEGISLATIVE
Legislative means the law making body of the state. Federal legislative of Pakistan has been named 'Parliament'. Our Parliament is bicameral. This means that our Parliament has two houses i.e., National Assembly or the lower house and Senate or the upper house. Every piece of legislation that our Parliament passes undergoes numerous stages before it is made a part of the statute book.
- First of all a draft of the desired law is prepared by the law experts. This draft is called bill. Private members can also prepare or draft bills to be presented before the Parliament.
- A draft is generally initiated before the lower house (National Assembly) first. The National Assembly undertakes a debate on the bill which is carried out in different stages. If the bill is passed by the National Assembly, in original or amended form, it is sent to the upper house (Senate) for approval. A bill is passed by the majority of the members of the National Assembly, present and voting.
- A bill passed by the National Assembly is again debated in different stages in the Senate. After debate, the bill may be passed in original or amended from or rejected.
- A bill passed by the Parliament (National Assembly and Senate) is then submitted for the final approval of the President. After the approval of the President the bill is published as law and makes a part of the statute book. President has no real authority to reject a bill passed by the Parliament. All bills except the monetary bills can be initiated in either of the two houses (National Assembly or Senate). If a bill is initiated in the Senate it will be sent to the National Assembly after the approval of the Senate, but as a matter of practice most of the bills are first initiated in the National Assembly.
- Constitutional amendments are also passed by the Parliament through similar procedure with 2/3 majority of the both houses (National Assembly and Senate).
Composition of the Federal Parliament
The National Assembly: National Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament, consists of 342 members. The country has been divided into constituencies demarcated on the basis of nearly equal number of voters in each constituency. Each constituency returns one members to the National Assembly, elected on the basis of universal adult franchise. Minority voters elect their representatives from among themselves. Members of the Provincial Assemblies in all the four provinces elect women members to fill the seats reserved for women members allocated for each province. Any citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan registered as voter, who has attained to the age of 25 is eligible for the membership of the National Assembly. Presiding officer of the National Assembly is called 'Speaker'; a 'Deputy Speaker' is also elected to perform duties in the absence of the Speaker, Prime Minister's is the most powerful and dignified office of the Republic. He is the head of the administrative machinery and the Chief Executive as well as the leader of the majority party in the National Assembly. President cannot overrule or reject the advice tendered by the Prime Minister. The President, however, enjoys certain discretionary powers.
The National Assembly is elected for five years, but the President can dissolve the National Assembly on Prime Minister's advice during its term. In this case mid-term elections are to be held within 90 days of the dissolution of the Assembly. The National Assembly has wide ranging powers of legislation. The National Assembly enjoys full control of the financial matters. No tax in the country can be levied without the approval of the National Assembly. Each member of the Cabinet heads an administrative division in the government. The Prime Minister is elected by the members of the National Assembly from among themselves. In this way the National Assembly exercises full control over the administration in the country.
The Senate: Senate is the upper house of the Parliament; this house represents the province and not the people. All the four provinces, large and small, have equal representation in the Senate. Any registered voter, at least 30 years of age, is eligible to contest for a seat of the Senate, allocated for his province of domicile. The Senate sessions are presided over by a Chairman; he is assisted by a Vice-Chairman. Both these officials are elected by the Senators form among themselves. The prime Minister can appoint ministers/ ministers of state from among the members of the Senate but their number should in no case/ exceed one- forth of the total strength of the cabinet.
Senate is a permanent house and cannot be dissolved en bloc (as a whole), each senator is elected for a term of six years; half of the total number of Senators retire every three years. No law in the Republic can be promulgated unless it has been passed by the Senate. Senate's powers of legislation are at par with the National Assembly excepting monetary matters regarding which the National Assembly has a dominant role. Chairman of the Senate officiates as President of Pakistan in his absence.
ii. THE EXECUTIVE
The Prime Minister: Democratic systems are classified into two major government forms on the basis of the division of powers between the organs of governments; parliamentary and presidential. Parliamentary system has been adopted in a number of countries including Pakistan, India and the UK. The United States of America is the most outstanding example of a country run under the presidential system. In the parliamentary system the legislature dominates the executive.
In Pakistan the executive is formed by the legislature. The Prime Minister (who is also the chief executive) is elected by the National Assembly (legislative). The Prime Minister is legally bound to select three fourths of the members of his cabinet from the National Assembly members. Every minister acts as the executive head of one or more of the government departments. Prime Minister is the chief executive. Office of the President, though more prestigious than the Prime Minister, is less powerful in practice. All the orders passed by the President should be countersigned by the Prime Minister. The National Assembly can force the Prime Minster and his Cabinet to resign office by passing a no-confidence motion against the government.
The President: The President enjoys the protocol of being the highest office bearer of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Constitutionally his discretion is limited by the binding advice of the Prime Minister. The President is elected by the two Houses for the Parliament and the four Provincial Assemblies. The Parliament can remove the President from office through impeachment, if he is found guilty of serious misconduct or suffers from mental or physical disability. A Muslim, who qualifies for the membership of the National Assembly and has attained to the age of 45 is eligible to contest election for the office of the President.
The President can impose emergency in any province and can dissolve the Provincial Assembly as with the consultation of the Prime Minister. He is authorized to appoint judges of the Supreme Court and the judges of all the four High Courts. In addition to that the President also appoints the Attorney General, four provincial Governors, members for the Council for Islamic Ideology and the three Army Chiefs; he also appoints a number of other important functionaries of the Government.
The President can, on the advice of the Prime Minster, promulgate ordinance having the force of law, if the National Assembly is not in session. An ordinance issued by the President has the force of law for a period of four months. Within or after the lapse of four months the Parliament may abrogate an ordinance or pass it as a piece of law. After approval by the Parliament an ordinance has the same force as a law passed by the Parliament through normal procedure. The President has the authority to hold referendum on an issue of national importance.
iii. THE FEDERAL JUDICIARY
A Supreme Court had been established, at the federal level, under the 1973 Constitution. All persons and institutions operating within the state of Pakistan fall within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is composed of one Chief Justice and a number of Judges. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President; rest of the judges are appointed by the President with the consultation of the Chief Justice. Judges of the Supreme Court have full security of service. Only Supreme Judicial Council can make recommendations about the removal of a judge on the basis of serious disability. Order of the removal is passed by the President, but the president cannot remove a judge, on his own, without the recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Council.
