The National Assembly of Pakistan Under the 1962 Constitution

8/3/2019 The National Assembly of Pakistan Under the 1962 Constitution

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The National Assembly of Pakistan Under the 1962 ConstitutionAuthor(s): M. RashiduzzamanReviewed work(s):Source: Pacific Affairs, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Winter, 1969-1970), pp. 481-493Published by: Pacific Affairs, University of British ColumbiaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2754129 .Accessed: 26/11/2011 06:19

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The National ssemblyfPakistan

under he1962ConstitutionM. Rashiduzzaman

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY of Pakistan nder he constitution f 962,which functioned ntil the promulgation f martial aw on March 25,

i969, proved an ineffective ody because of its inadequate techniques fpersuasion, ts insufficient inancial owers, nd its dominance by the gov-ernment arty. Many of its members rom West Pakistan were the youngscionsof upper class families-the principal upporters f the Ayub regime-while members rom ast Pakistan ended o be middle classprofessionals,particularly awyers, who were increasingly rustrated y the handicapsunder which they had to work within he Assembly. ven so, the NationalAssemblywas the only truly ational forum n which the views and griev-ances of Pakistan's various regions and interests ould be expressed. Al-

though he executivewas not responsible o the egislature, t was responsiveto pressures xerted y it. t is the purpose f this rticle o explore he roleof the National Assembly f Pakistan under the 962 constitution, o exam-ine the composition f ts membership, nd to assess how far t was effectivein exercizing ontrol ver he xecutive.

The constitution f 962 vested heexecutive uthority f the RepublicofPakistan n the president.' he president ppointed heministers, ho heldoffice uring his pleasure. he position f members f the presidential abi-net in Pakistan may be comparedwith that of the members f the formerviceroy's xecutive ouncil, who were not responsible o the central egisla-ture n British ndia but could take part n its proceedings.2 he provisionthat ministers ould take part in the proceedings f the House, althoughthey were not allowed to vote in any division, acilitated ontact betweenthe members f the National Assembly nd the ministers ho represented

1 The Constitution f the Islamic Republicof Pakistan as modified p to April I968)(Karachi,968), S.31.

2 Unlike the American ystem, he president id not require he approval f the NationalAssembly or ppointingministers. here was no prime minister, ut usually senior ministerof the presidential abinet cted as leader of the House. Evidently, he leader of the Housewas expected o serve s a substitute or a prime minister nd to act as the chief pokesmanof the government nside heNationalAssembly.

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Pacific ffairsthe xecutive.he ministers ere urther elpedn maintaining lose iaisonwith he egislators yparliamentaryecretaries, howeremembers f theNationalAssemblynd were lso appointed y the president. henminis-

terswere bsent heparliamentaryecretariesnswered uestionsnd servedas spokesmenf he overnmentnside heNational ssembly.3The NationalAssembly f Pakistan was the supreme egislativeody

of the ountry uring yub's egimendwasconstitutedor period f fiveyears rom hedateof the election nless issolvedarlier. he presidentsummoned nd prorogued heAssemblynd could lso dissolvet, ubjectto certain estrictions:t couldnot be dissolvedf the unexpired ortion fits erm was ess han 20 days, nd t could not bedissolvedfter formalnotice f mpeachment f the president adbeen erved. he most mpor-tant estriction n the resident'sower f dissolution as that n the ase fdissolution,hepresident imself asobliged oseekre-election ithin 20days rom he ate f he issolution.

In a presidentialystem, he egislature s independent f the executive,so it is curious o find hat he 962 constitution f Pakistan made theexecutiveart f the egislature;nly n a parliamentaryystemsthe xecu-tive iven hepower f convening s well s dissolvingheparliament.t isalso evident hat residential ower n relation othe egislature asverymuch ifferent rom heAmerican ystem. he techniques f coercing heexecutive y the egislature erevirtually bsent. ne cannot elpfeelingthat he result f this wasthe overprotectionf the xecutive rom ormalcriticismf ts onduct.

The National ssemblyf Pakistan onsistedf only ne house, avingi56 members, ne-half f them lected hrough heelectoral ollege romEastPakistan nd the ther alf imilarly lected romWestPakistan.4hecreation f a unicameral egislature asa legacy f the pre-i958 eriod nd

was apparentlymplementedo avoid the complexitiesf the bicameral

system, lthough heConstitution ommissionf 960 had strongly ecom-mended second hamber.

It is interesting onote hat he NationalAssemblyand alsothe pro-vincial ssemblies) as provided ith ll the egislative echniquesforexample, uestions, esolutions,nd adjournment otions) which re nor-mally ractised n a parliamentaryystem f government: hefirst our fevery itting as utilized or utting nd answering uestions; verymem-ber of the NationalAssembly asentitled o ask questions ubject o cer-tain restrictions;hequestions ereusually ddressed nly o ministers rparliamentaryecretariesnd not o private embers. ince heprivilege f

3The usual practicewas to appoint one parliamentary ecretary or each of the ministriesor divisions f the government f Pakistan.

4The Eighth Amendment f the constitution, assed n i967, provided or 18 membersof the National Assembly o be distributed quallybetween he two wings of Pakistan.

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Pakistan's ational ssembly nder he 962 Constitutionasking uestions ay e abused y aising rrelevant,nnecessary,rvaguequestions,t wasprovidedhat question ddressedoa minister r a par-liamentaryecretary ust elate o public ffairs ithwhich e had beenofficiallyonnectedr to a matter r administrationorwhich e was re-sponsible.5question asnot o be vague r rrelevant. ven hough nexaminationf the uestions utby themembersevealshat ague ndirrelevantuestions ere ften sked, he mportancef question ourcannot e minimized. uestion ourwasundoubtedlyhe iveliest art fthe egislativeay, nd tgave n excellent pportunityor ackbenchersoattain rominence.

Themain urposef questionss to nfluence he ourse f dministra-

tion. nder he 962 constitution,he egislatureassaddled ith n ir-removablexecutivehichmight e ndirectlynfluencedut ould ot emade irectlyesponsibleo t.Most f he uestions ere ddressedotheimportantepartmentsf he overnmentfPakistannd overed varietyof ubjects,uch s the rmed nd ivil ervices,ncludingecruitment,ro-motion, ension,alary,ransfer,nd ther lliedmatters; oliticalrisonersand politicalrrests; osts nd telegraphs; adio nd broadcasting;ail-ways ndcommunication;oreignffairs,nsurance,nd banking;ndus-tries; griculture;ndregionalisparities.ignificantly,nthe ater ears fAyub's egime, ore nd more uestions n regional isparityndalliedproblemsere eing sked.

Theprivilegef asking uestions asvery opular. able (p. 484)indicateshe rend f uestionsntheNational ssemblyrom962to 969(February)."

The number f starred uestionsncreasedrogressivelyrom 962to 969,apparentlyhe learestrend f his eriod.henumberf uestionsin the Assemblyependedn several actors:he ength f the ession;

the ntensityf politicaleelingst the ime-wheneverhere as a swingagainsthe overnmentn the ountry, ore nd more arassinguestionswere ut by membersf the opposition;hevolume f legislativendfinancialusinesseforeheAssembly;nd he ncidencefnatural alami-ties, uch sfloodsnd yclones.

The right o move esolutions as another mportant eaponwhichenabledmembersobring ressure n the dministration. ikequestions,resolutions ay lsobegrouped nder ertain mportantubjects,uch seducation,ealth nd welfare, osts nd telegraphs,ailways,olice nd

5Rules of Procedure nd Conduct of Business,National Assembly f Pakistan Dacca,I967), rule 39.

6 Based on data gathered rom he Summary f the Work Done by the National Assemblyof Pakistan nd Summary f the BusinessTransacted y the National Assembly Rawalpindi:Government f Pakistan Press, published from 962 to i969). The starred uestions wereformally sked on the floor f the House and supplementary uestions ould be put on theanswers iven to them.

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Pacific ffairsTABLE I: NUMBER OFQUESTIONS RECEIVED AND DISPOSEDOF BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

No. ofquestions

lapsedSession No. of No. of No. of No. of /withdrawn/questions questions questions questions returned toreceived admitted answered disallowed members

Strd. Unstrd. Strd. Unstrd. Strd. Unstrd. Strd. Unstrd. Strd. Unstrd.

Budget ession, 962 247 25 212 i8 212 i8 31 7 4 -Special ession,962 120 10 63 7 63 7 6 I 51 2Daccasession

(March-April),i963. 946 33 587 I7 587 17 273 13 86 3

Budget, i963 577 28 393 I8 393 i8 I7I 10 13 -Dacca (Nov.-Dec.),

I963 395 - 300 - 300 19 4March-April, i964 553 2 438 I 438 I 83 I 32 -Budget, i964 358 7 272 6 96 6 49 - 213 IAugust, 964 278 - 230 230 - 44 4Dacca (Jan.), I965 62 6 39 5 39 5 1I4 I 9 -Budget, i965 1100 3 774 3 78i 3 248 44

Dacca (March), i966 828 - 436 - 436 - 176 - 28 -

Budget, i966 1365 3 829 3 829 3 372- 40 -Dacca(Nov.-Dec.),

i966. 1418 - 788 - 773 - 483 19

Budget, i967 1746 - 1038 - 988 - 378 173 -Dacca(Winter), 967 io8i - 527 - 527 - i8o 374 -Budget, 968 2215 - 1546 - 1509 - 6oi - 68 -I968 (Dec.)-I969

(Feb.) 2131 - 885 885 286 960

Total 15,420 117 9,357 78 9,o86 78 3,414 33 2,1 22 6

custodymatters, olitical rievances, ute prices, nd constitutional ssues.Aresolution as not binding n the government; t was only a recommenda-tion of the egislature nd it wasentirely p to the government oaccept t ornot. In practice, ery few resolutionswere discussedon the floor f theHouse; from 962 to 969 as many s 1933 privatemembers' esolutions ereadmitted, ut only 33 of them were actuallymoved n the National Assem-bly.7The rest were either isallowed by the speaker or withdrawn y the

members oncerned. t is rather isappointing onote that nly 5 resolutionswere accepted y the House in the ast seven years of Ayub's regime.8 b-7 The relevant igures ave been gathered rom ummary f the Work Done by the Na-

tional Assembly f Pakistan nd Summary f the Business ransacted y the National Assembly,op. cit.

8 Under the rules, the admitted esolutions ere eligible to be raised for discussion ythe members nly on the day allotted for transacting on-official usiness. n fact there

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Pakistan's ational ssemblynder he 962 Constitutionviously, embers erenot ble omake ffective seof their ight omoveresolutions.

Adjournment otions rovided nother ignificant pportunity or

members f the Assembly o influence he administration. hese cov-ered many ubjects nd areasof interest, ut most of them dealt withsensitiveopics uch s the rrest f politicaleaders, estrictionsn publicmeetingsmposed y the government,he nflux f Muslim efugees romIndia, amine onditionsn certain arts f he ountry, lacklistingf news-papers, arassmentf mportant oliticaleaders, nd lathi harges gainststudent emonstrators.nly on very areoccasions id members et anopportunityodiscuss djournment otions. s many s 678 uchmotionswere received from 962 to i969, but only 42 were actually dmitted fordiscussion.9s with esolutionsherestwere ither uled ut of order ythe speaker r withdrawn y the members. ost discussionsn adjourn-mentmotions ere imlessndtime-wasting.

The NationalAssembly lso had certain inancial owers nder heconstitution.achyear, hebudgetwas presented o the NationalAssemblyby the finance inister n behalf f the president. ut, under ts rules, heNationalAssemblyf Pakistan adeffectiveontrol nly ver hat art fthe budgetwhichdealtwith new expenditure. ecurrent xpenditure id

not equire he anction f theAssembly,lthough emands or uch grantscouldbediscussedn the House.The i962 constitution,n fact, ivided hebudget nto votable nd non-votableortions. uch a practice aspreva-lent uring heBritish eriod rom92i to 947.10

Whendemands or rants ere laced efore heHouse,members ereat liberty omovemotions orreductionsn the amount skedfor. uchmotions ere usuallymoved nly for the purpose f raising iscussion.Most f the uts proposed erefor oken mounts nly, nd only n rareoccasions ere uchmotions ressed oa division. ince the governmentalways njoyed comfortable ajority, t wasfutile or heoppositionopress motion o division xcept oput the dissenting oices n record.

the arrangement f placing nly portion f the otal xpenditure e-fore he National ssemblyor pproval anbecriticizedn several rounds.First, t gave lmost blank heck o the bureaucracy,ince he governmentdid not require nnual sanction or recurrent xpenditure, hich con-stituted he ion's hare f the nnual budget."1econdly, his ystem ave

were very few such days as a result f which most of the resolutions ould not be discussedin the House.9 Ibid.10See also M. Rashiduzzaman, The Central Legislature n British ndia, 1921-1947

(Dacca, I965).11 In the i968-69 budget, only about Rs.i87 crores approximately per cent) were

shown as new expenditure s against a total authorized xpenditure f Rs.24,38 crores.These data are based on the Schedule of Demands for Grants nd Appropriation or the

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Pacific ffairswide cope or inancialrregularitiesn the bsencef ffectivecrutinyythe lected epresentatives.'2heofficialrgument asalwaystronglynfavour f restricted inancialowers or he National ssembly.t was

claimedhat n a developingountryikePakistan evelopmentrojectsrequire hat unds e spent ver number fyears.f theNational ssem-bly hould efuse o anctionhe equired oneyn any ear,he rocessfdevelopmentould ehindered.

The financial ower iven o theNational ssemblyfPakistan nderAyub's residentialystem asmuch ess han ts predecessornjoyedur-ing he arliamentaryegime.13comparativetudy f he inancialowersoftheAmericanongressnd heNational ssemblyfPakistan,oth fwhich ere egislaturesperatingnder presidentialystem,evealshatthe atter njoyedar ess ower. lthoughhe 962constitutionntroducedsome residentialeatures,t differed idelyromheWestern odel f hepresidentialystem.he striking ifferenceetweenakistan'sresidentialpatternnd hat f Westernountries as he nadequateinancialower ftheNational ssembly.his ack f inancialower asdue o he ear hatthe egislatureould bstruct he xecutive.hus,with neffectiveinancialpowers,heNational ssemblyould ot lay he roper ole f delibera-tive ody. rom ime o time tsmembers ade trong leas or ncreasedfinancialowers,ecausehey ealizedhat hey ould ardlynfluencehemajor ortion f governmentxpenditures.hiswas ndeed frustratingsituationor hem. s FaridAhmed, prominent emberf he NationalAssembly,nce ommented:So far s the recurringxpensesre con-cerned hich remeant or unning he ublic dministrationf his oun-try, hisegislatureasgotnosay. his s a mockeryf democracy;his smockeryf the oncept f the right f the people o control heir wnfinancesnd he onstitutionoes ot top here."'14

Thefirst lectionsotheNational ssemblynder he 962constitutionwere eld n April f hat ear. here ere iocandidatesor56 seats, ithmemberseing lectedndirectlyy the lectoralollege f 8o,ooo asicDemocrats.heelectionsere oughtnan ndividualasis,ince oliticalparties ere t hat ime anned. hen he ewlylected ational ssemblyExpenditure f the Government f Pakistan or 1968-69 Rawalpindi:Government f PakistanPress, 968) (one crore = io million nd is the equivalent f U.S. $2,o83,333 at the cur-

rent official xchange ate).12 Some serious ases of financial rregularities ame to the notice of the Public AccountsCommittee. ee Report f the Public Accounts ommittee n the Accounts f the Governmentof Pakistan or he Years 1962-63, 1963-64, and 1964-65 Rawalpindi:Government f PakistanPress, 967).

13 K. B. Sayeed,The Political ystem f Pakistan London: Oxford University ress, 967),p. I09.

Pakistan National Assembly, ebates Official eports), June 2, i963, p. 329.

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Pakistan's ational ssemblynder he 962 Constitutionmet nJune 962party ffiliationsould ot ake ny efinitehape ecausepoliticalarties ere till anned.nformal oliticalroupings ere, ow-ever, ormed. ohammadliformed isDemocraticroup ith claimedstrength f 1 members,xtendingupportothe overnment.n the p-positionide here as he akistan eoples'roupedbyMashiur ahman,FaridAhmed,nd number fwell-knowneaders.herewas lso n n-dependentroupedby ardar ahadur hanwhich ad I members.hePakistan rogressiveroup as edbyMianAbdul ari ndZahur lahi.Finallyhere ere unattached embersho pparentlyidnot elongoany roup.'5

It is difficultodefine hese olitical roupingsn terms f political

partiessthey re nderstoodnWesternountries,or hey ereittle orethan ressure roupscting ither nsupport f he overnmentr againstit anddidnot lways ehaves political arties. ften he roups ormedmade xaggeratedlaimsbout heir trengthn theHouse, ut here asnoreal isciplinemong heirmembers.necould asily et nto groupand t was ven asier o get ut f t.Butparty inesnside heNationalAssemblynderwent transformationfter hepassagef the PoliticalParties ill n 962.TheDemocraticroup nd everalthers erged iththe akistan uslimeagueConventionists)hichhen laimedstrengthof 05 members. he Pakistan eoples' roup 25 members), upported ytheMuslimeagueCouncillors)ith omembers,ormedhe pposition.'These roupsontinued ith provincialias. ast Pakistani embersfeachof these parties" ormed miniature ressure roup.Mostofthe ast akistanippositioneaders eremembersf he akistaneoples'group nd heMuslimeagueCouncillors).herewasnoseriousttempttoorganizeoliticalarties ith nynational rogramnside he NationalAssembly.ven mong he pposition embersosense f unity xisted.

Theelectionsor he econd ational ssemblynder he 962constitu-tionwere eld n March 965.Thestrength f thepoliticalartiesn theNational ssembly s a result f hese lections as s follows17

Pakistan uslim eague Convention) I29(governmentarty)

United arliamentaryarty I4National wami arty 3Independentroup 5CouncilMuslim eague I

15 See also M. Rashiduzzaman, akistan: A Study of Government nd Politics Dacca,i967), pp. 26i-2.

16There were also 6 members f the IslamicDemocratic ront, members f the nde-pendent group, and 7 Independents. arl Von Vorys, Political Development n Pakistan(Princeton, 965), p. 273.

17 List of members epresenting ifferent oliticalparties irculated y the Secretariat f

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Pacific fairsIt s nterestingonote hat he ppositionas ompletelyoutedn this

election.ut lthough he akistan uslim eague Conventionists)asno doubt ery trongnside heHouse,t hadfew ootsmong he eople.Therewasno regular oordinationmong tsmembers.n a presidentialsystem,hemembersf he egislature ry o offer airlybjectiveriticismfthe olicies f he dministration.ut he onventionistseemedoo eadyoapprovehe oliciesf heAyub dministrationithoutny riticism hat-soever. t the ame ime,he ize f he pposition asverymuch educedand s uch twas tterlyneffective.

It sworthwhilenalysinghe ge nd ducationalevel f he membersof heNational ssembly. heagedistributionf themembersrom ast

andWest akistanlectedn 962 nd 965sshownnthe ollowingable18

TABLE 2: AGE OF MEMBERS OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTED INi962AND I965

EastPakistan West akistan

Age I962 I965 I962 I9654o ndbelow 25 I7 35 3I41 o 49 12 30 22 2I50 and bove 36 28 19 i8Total (5notknown) 3notknown) (2 notknown) 8 notknown)

It appearshat omparativelyounger embersave een eturnedotheNational ssemblyromWest akistan.omenferencesay, owever,bemade bout his rend n the attern f membership.s willbeshownlater, heWest akistani embers f heNational ssemblyere till re-dominantlyandlords, hereasheEast Pakistani embers eremostlylawyersndbusinessmen.hehold f he raditionalanded entrynEastPakistan aspracticallyitheredway, ut eudalamiliesre till redomi-nent nthe ocial,conomic,ndpoliticalife f heWest. t has been oundthatmost f heyoung embersromWest akistan elongedo ristocra-tic amiliesf andlords,irs religiouseaders),ndAmirsrulers) f theformer rincelytates. ne cannot elp eelinghat n West akistan heyoung ards f the eading amiliescquiredocial minence ery asilythroughhe nherited ortuneshich elpedhem et lected ithout uchdifficulty.n the bsencef uch privilegedocial lassn EastPakistan,t

waseasier nly ormiddle-agednd elderly ersons ho had already t-tained ome ocialminenceoearn he distinctionf becoming embersthe NationalAssembly n July 968. All the parties xcept he PakistanMuslimLeague (Con-vention) combined together o form the opposition n the floor of the House, althoughthey had different iewsoutside he Assembly.

18Based on Mushtaq Ahmed, Government nd Politics n Pakistan Karachi, I963), p.272, and Nuruzzaman, Who's Who (an account f the egislators) Dacca, i968).

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Pakistan's ational ssemblynder he 962 Constitutionof the National ssembly.he influx f younger embers ay lsobeattributedoother actors.irst, any f the lderly oliticianshowereprominent efore 958 had by 965 retired rom olitics r died, nd thereis evidence hat heir ons r close elations ad stepped nto heir hoes.'9Secondly,nder he ndirect ystemf lectionven young an ould akea chancetgetting imselflectedincetwasno onger ecessaryohavelong ssociationith ny articular oliticalarty r nurse constituencyfor long ime.

Another actor hichmust e taken nto ccounts the ducational t-tainmentsfmembersf heegislature.heNational ssemblyontainedhigher umberf universityraduateshan he rovincialssemblies.20n

thefirst ssembly,i

membersaduniversityegreesnd n the econd

Assemblyhere ere 3graduates.he ducationalttainmentsf hemem-bers f he irstnd econd ational ssembliesre hown n the ollowingtables21

TABLE 3: EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUNDOF THE MEMBERS OF THE NATIONALASSEMBLY ELECTED IN i962 AND i965.


i962 i965 i962 i965Graduatend

above 55 58 36 35Matriculation

and bove(belowradu-ate) 4 IO I5 20

Belowmatricu-lation 10 5 I5 I4

Total 69 73 66 69(9notknown) 5notknown) I2 notknown)9notknown)

Twoclear rends ay e deducedrom his able. irst, he ducationevelof the National ssembly embers as ncreasing.econdly,he duca-tional ttainments f theEastPakistani embers ere igher han heirWest akistani olleagues.

In analysinghe ompositionf heNational ssemblynevital oint sthe ssessmentf he ccupationalackgroundf ts membersTable )-

19This impression s gathered rom he biographical ketches f the MNAs published nthe newspapers nd other ublished ources.

20 In the East Pakistan Assembly here were only 53 graduates mong i55 members.Basedon Short Li/e Sketches f M.P.A.s (Dacca: East Pakistan Government ress, 968).

21 Basedon Ahmed, op. cit. and Nuruzzaman, p. cit.22Ahmed, op. cit.

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Pacific lairsTABLE 4: OCCUPATIONAL BACKGROUND OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

ELECTED IN i962 AND i965


i962 i965 i962 i965

Lawyers 31 30 i6 IIBusinessnd

industry 23 20 I9 IoLandholders I2 7 58 32Miscellaneous I7 I9 3 i8

(2not known) (3not known)

The lawyers nd the andlords tilldominated heNational Assembly nderthe new system s they id under heold.23 he predominance f awyers wasvery much apparent mong the members rom East Pakistan. The onlystriking attern f membership n i962 and i965 was the increased epre-sentation rom usiness nd industry. nder the ndirect ystem f election,even businessmen nd industrialists ho did not have a political ollowingoften dared to take a chance at the polls, becausethe size of the electoratewas manageable nd it was not therefore ecessary or a candidate o havea large political ollowing.24n West Pakistan, andlords ontinued odomi-nate the political cene. t is reasonable o conclude hat membership n theNationalAssembly as still onfined ocertain arrow ocial lasses.

The attitude f the awyer-politiciansnside hepost-i965 NationalAssem-bly was very much the same as before, nd undoubtedly heywere the mostarticulate lement: t was the awyers who provided esistance oall attemptsof the executive o suppress olitical reedom n the country; t was the aw-yerswho fought or hepreservation f the rule of aw and the restoration f

democratic ights nd privileges o the people; it was the lawyers, nd notthe members f other ccupations, ho were most vocal.Distinguished p-position eaders such as Nurul Amin, Farid Ahmed, Dr. Alim-al-Razi,and Shah Azizur Rahman, belonged o the egal profession. t was aroundthe awyers hat oppositionwas kept aliveand it was the awyers who wereable to shift hecentre f political ravity.

The attitude f the businessmen was, on the whole, predictable. heywere with the government henever he government's olicy uited them.They at once identified ith the opposition when any step by the govern-ment went gainst he nterests f the commercial ommunity. ost of themwere ust not vocal.They were ordinarily he silent ackbenchers nd often

23 See also Talukder Maniruzzaman, Group Interests n Pakistan Politics, 947-I958,"PacificAffairs, ol. XXXIX(I966), pp. 83-4.

24For further nformation n this point see also M. Rashiduzzaman, Indirect lectionsin Pakistan," eitschrift ur olitik September 968), pp. 326-36.

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Pakistan's ational ssemblynder he 962 Constitutionstood or lection nly oearn ocial restige.he landlords romWestPakistan ere nable opresenthemselvessa progressivelementn theAssembly,nd the nadequate epresentationf other rofessionsuggests

that hey ere eluctant omovento olitics.mployeesf governmentandof semi-governmentrganizationsere arred rom eekinglection.Under heseircumstances,nly limited umberfprofessionsere epre-sentednthe egislaturesnPakistan.

Finally, ow arwas heNational ssembly,ith ts imited owersndprivileges,ffectiven ts ole? Althought enjoyedess ower ndpositionthan he egislature nder he arliamentaryystemnPakistan,he act e-mains hat t wasthe nly ationalorum here heviews f variouse-gions nd nterestsould efreelyxpressed.t was he nly ationaleliber-ative ody,nd twas nthe loorf his ouse hat ublic oliciesould ediscussedt ength. nterprising embersf theNational ssembly adethebest ossibleseof their osition.he opposition,lthoughncapableof dislodginghe xecutive,idnot pare he overnment.ll newspapersandpoliticalartiesn the ountry ocusedheir ttentionn theNationalAssemblyhen t was nsession.pecialorrespondentsere ent ocoveritsproceedings,ndpeopleearned hroughhepresswhat heAssemblywasdoing.ts mportances thenational orum ust ot beminimized.

Theventilationf grievancesroduceshemost mportantustificationof heneglectedssembly.t has lready een hown hatmembersf heNational ssemblyidbring p nnumerablerievancesymeans f ques-tions, esolutions,nd adjournment otions.venordinary atters erealsobroughtothe otice f the overnmentn the orm f questions.d-journment otionsndmotionsor eductionsnexpenditureslso rovidedopportunitiesobring p grievancesnthe loorf heHouse. lthoughhelegislatureould ot nseat he overnment,t could ensurehe dminis-tration. ven n ordinaryuestionould bligeministerso have freshlook t a dormant ile. ersonalontact etweenarliamentaryecretariesor ministersn the ne hand nd ndividual embersn the ther ouldalso ead ogrievanceseing ettled. otonly pposition embersut lsosupportersf he overnmentried o ecurehe edressfgrievances.ftenit happenedhat ertain easureshich ould ot e redressedt the ro-vincialevelwere rought o the notice f the entral overnment,hosegood ffices ight ettlehematter.TheNational ssembly f Pakistanpentmost f ts ime onsideringlegislation.25lthoughhe residentnjoyed ideegislativeowers,heNa-

25 From i962 to i969 (February), the National Assembly at for 465 days of which396 days were spent n transacting overnment usiness.Out of the total number f govern-ment days, only 89 days were utilized for discussing he budget; the rest were taken up

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Pacific ffairstional ssembly'suthority asdefinitelyreater.26nce billwasdraftedit had to go through ertain rocedures:ormalntroduction,ebate,ndamendment.ome bills created much nterest nd were extensivelyamended.27he National ssembly f Pakistan ad a goodnumber flawyers ho couldmake aluable ontributionsn improving ills ntro-duced y he overnment.n fact, he ight omove mendments as animportant eaponn the hands f members.henumber f amendmentsacceptednthe loor f heHouse reatly ependednthe trengthf thesupportersf themotion.ince he overnment arty njoyedn absolutemajority rom962, it was not possibleor pposition embersocarrythroughny ubstantialmendments.ut he onsiderationfbillsn tand-ing nd elect ommitteesave ome cope o the pposition.28he selectcommitteeppointedn particular ills onsistedf membersepresent-ingdifferentarties,nd he eliberationsf he ommitteesere ometimesvaluable.29Itaseasier or he ommitteesoconsideregislativeroposalsin an atmosphereree rom arty nfluence.hus, lthough heNationalAssembly as not apable f controllingr dislodginghe xecutive,tcould everthelessnfluencehe oursef dministration.30hegovernmentwassensitiveo the riticism f the oppositionnd eager oexplaintspolicieso he ppositioneaders.

To sum p, he ffectivenessf heNational ssemblyfPakistannderthe 962constitutionas imited y everal actors.irst, he ystemf ndi-rect lectionsailedo nspirenough espector heHouse san mportantpoliticalnstitutionincet didnot ive hemembersgenuineeelinghatthey epresentedhepeople irectly.Yecondly,heNational ssembly'swith egislative usiness. ased on Summary f the Work Done by the National Assembly fPakistan, p. cit.

26 From 1962 to 1969 as many as 107 government ills were passed by the NationalAssembly. bid.

27Examples are the PoliticalParties Bill, 1962; the Censorship f Films Bill, 1963; theDisplaced Persons Compensation nd Rehabilitation) Amendment) Bill, 1963; the WealthTax Bill, 1963; the Decorations Bill, 1965; the Security f Pakistan Bill, 1965; the Anti-Corruption mendment ill, 1965; the Transfer f Property Amendment) Bill, 1966; theLegal Practitioners nd Bar Councils Amendment) Bill, 1966; the Electoral College(Amend-ment) Bill, 1967; and the Privy Purses Charged Expenditures) ill, 1968.

28 There was one standing ommittee consisting f six members ther han the ministerand the parliamentary ecretary) ttached o each ministry r division of the governmentof Pakistan which considered ll bills covered by its urisdiction.

29The Antiquities ill, 1967 was substantially odified n the light of recommendationsmade by the Standing Committee n Education. Report f the Standing Committee n Edu-cation n the Antiquities ill, 1967.

30The position s identical with the central egislature n British ndia under the Gov-ernment f India Act, 9i9. It could only ndirectly nfluence he course of administration.

31 In the wake of great political movements n the country which started n December1968, 4 members belonging to the opposition esigned from the National Assembly nFebruary 969. In explaining he reasons or his resignation, ne of them aid that he wouldgo back to the House "as the elected representative f the people." Pakistan Observer,February 3, i969.

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Pakistan's ational ssembly nder he 962Constitutionpoliticaltatus ould not be enhancedn the bsence f effectiveower.Thirdly, heoverwhelmingtrength f the governmentarty nside heNational ssemblynducedessimismmong ppositionembers.

Theprecedingurveyf heworkingf heNational ssemblyfPakis-tan s not story f uccess. modern arliamentustainshe xecutiveswell s controlst.But heNational ssemblyfPakistan idnot lay nypart n this rocessecausehe xecutive asnot esponsibleo t. Theroleof the National ssemblyn the political evelopmentf Pakistan nderAyub hanwasthereforewofold:t served s the ll-Pakistanorum orthe entilation f grievances,nd t persistentlyried o dilute he uthori-tarian haracterf he xecutivender he962 constitution.

Universityf Dacca,May 969

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The National Assembly of Pakistan Under the 1962 Constitution

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