The Parliament of Pakistan: A History of Institution-Building and (Un)Democratic Practices (1971–1977)

Description

The book highlights the working of Pakistan’s parliament in the 1970s and examines the role of Pakistan’s parliament and how it functioned, and evolved over the 1971–1977 period. It focuses on concepts such as autonomy, complexity, differentiation, durability, and sovereignty, providing insight on the functioning of political regimes and parliaments in postcolonial states. It lists the strengths and weaknesses of the parliament and initiates a compelling discussion to establish a correlation between its functioning and the emergence of undemocratic practices in Pakistan.

Table of Contents

1. Foreword by Matthew McCartney
2. Introduction by Mian Raza Rabbani
3. Acknowledgements
4. List of Abbreviations
5. PART 1. Institution Building in Pakistan: A Conceptual Framework
   1. Institution of Parliament-Historical Context
   2. Political Institutionalisation under Colonial Rule
6. PART 2. The Parliament in Pakistan: A Brief Survey
   1. The Composition of the First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan
   2. Contribution and Achievements of the First Legislature of Pakistan
   3. Formation of the Second Constituent Assembly (1955-8)
   4. Ayub Khan Era: The Parliament under the Presidential System
   5. The Second Assembly under Ayub Khan
7. PART 3. Formation, Complexity, and Differentiation of Parliament
   1. The National Assembly
      1. Formation
      2. Professional Background of the Parliamentarians
      3. Gender
      4. Educational Qualification
      5. Age Group
   2. The Senate Formation
   3. Working Relationship Between the two Houses
   4. Parliamentary Committees
   5. Opposition and the Process of Legislation
   6. Use of Rules by the Speaker of the Assembly or Chairman of the Senate
8. PART 4. Sovereignty of Parliament as a Constituent Assembly
   1. The Tripartite Accord for the Constitution
   2. The Interim Constitution 1972
   3. Meeting of Parliamentary Party Leaders
   4. Report of the Constitution Committee
   5. Dismissal of the NAP-JUI Government in Balochistan
   6. The Framing of the Constitution
   7. Formation of United Democratic Front (UDF)
9. PART 5. Parliament’s Durability: Efficiency on National Issues (1973-7)
   1. Proclamation of Emergency
   2. The Qadiani Issue
   3. Foreign Policy and the Parliament
      1. Foreign Policy Debates
      2. The Budget Session Debate
      3. Issue-oriented Debate
   4. The Question Hour
   5. Recognition of Bangladesh
   6. Exit from the Commonwealth
   7. The Simla Agreement
   8. Socio-economic Reforms and the Parliament
   9. The Balochistan Government
10. PART 6. Establishing Autonomy: Relation of the Parliament with Other Institutions
    1. The Executive’s Influence over the Parliament
    2. The Cabinet and the Parliament
    3. Army vs the Parliament
       1. How the Assembly Tackled the Army?
    4. Creation of the Federal Security Force
    5. Civil Bureaucratic Obstacles in the Way of the Parliament
    6. Reduction in the Powers of the Judiciary
    7. Political Parties and the Parliament
    8. The Ruling Party-Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP)
    9. The Media and the Parliament
    10. Relations of Parliamentarians with One Another
    11. Training in Parliamentary Affairs
11. PART 7. Conclusion
12. Notes
13. Bibliography
14. Annexures
    1. I. Party Position in Legislatures
    2. II. List of Candidates returned to the National Assembly of Pakistan from National Constituencies, 1970
    3. III. Facsimile: Memorandum of Settlement PPP, ANP, JUI
    4. IV. Facsimile: Signatures of the Constitution Committee, December 1972
    5. V. List of Bills Passed in the Senate of Pakistan, 1973-1977
    6. VI. List of Acts Passed by the National Assembly, 1972-1977
    7. VII. A Chronology of Events related to Parliament, 1972-1977
15. Index

Author Biography

Mahboob Hussain, Associate Professor, Department of History & Pakistan Studies,, University of Punjab, Lahore

Mahboob Hussain is an Associate Professor, Department of History & Pakistan Studies at the University of the Punjab, Lahore. He completed his PhD from Pakistan Study Centre, the University of the Punjab, Lahore and postdoctoral studies  from the University of Oxford, UK