National Parliaments: Pakistan

February 2017

The Law Library of Congress, Global Legal Research Center

(202) 707-6462 (phone) • (866) 550-0442 (fax) • law@loc.gov • http://www.law.gov
This report is provided for reference purposes only. 

It does not constitute legal advice and does not represent the official 

opinion of the United States Government. The information provided 

reflects research undertaken as of the date of writing. 

It has not been updated.
The Law Library of Congress 1

National Parliaments: Pakistan 

Tariq Ahmad 

Foreign Law Specialist

SUMMARY Pakistan is an Islamic federal republic with a multiparty parliamentary system of 

government largely based on the UK model pursuant to the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan. 

Pakistan’s federal legislative branch consists of the President, the National Assembly as 

the lower house, and the Senate as the upper house. The National Assembly and Senate 

constitute Pakistan’s bicameral Parliament. 

The National Assembly has 342 seats, including seats reserved for women and nonMuslims. The Senate of Pakistan consists of 104 members elected indirectly by the 

members of the National Assembly and the members of the provincial assemblies. 

Members of the National Assembly are elected through a mixed electoral system, also 

known as a “parallel system.” 

In order for a bill to become law in Pakistan, it must undergo a legislative procedure in 

each house of Parliament that involves twelve or thirteen steps, including three readings in 

both the National Assembly and the Senate, followed by presidential assent. This 

procedure is regulated by Pakistan’s Constitution and the Rules of Procedure of 

the relevant house. 

I. Background 

A. Creation of Pakistan and its Parliament 

The State of Pakistan was created under the Independence Act of 1947, an Act of the UK 

Parliament, which partitioned British India into two independent dominions of India and 

Pakistan.1

 According to the National Assembly website, 

[t]he Act made the existing Constituent Assemblies, the dominion legislatures. These 

Assemblies were allowed to exercise all the powers which were formerly exercised by 

the Central Legislature, in addition to the powers regarding the framing of a new 

Constitution, prior to which all territories were to be governed in accordance with the 

Government of India Act, 1935.2

Pakistan has been governed by multiple Constitutions since its founding3

 and has been under 

military rule for a significant portion of its turbulent political history. 4 Pakistan’s current 

 

1

 Indian Independence Act, 1947, http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1947/30/pdfs/ukpga_19470030_en.pdf, 

archived at https://perma.cc/2NEX-7SCY. 

2 Parliamentary History, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, http://www.na.gov.pk/en/content.php?id=75 (last 

visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/NJM4-DHP6. 

3 Id. 
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parliamentary system of government was established pursuant to article 50 of the 1973 

Constitution of Pakistan,5

 which stipulates that “[t]here shall be a Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) 

of Pakistan consisting of the President and two Houses to be known respectively as the National 

Assembly and the Senate.”6

 

Pakistan’s first Constituent Assembly was dissolved by the then Governor-General of Pakistan, 

Ghulam Muhammad, on October 24, 1954, just before the final draft of the Constitution could be 

“placed in the House for approval.”7

 The second Constituent Assembly, which was convened on 

May 28, 1955, drafted the first (1956) Constitution of Pakistan. That Constitution, which was 

promulgated on March 23, 1956, established Pakistan as an Islamic Republic and established a 

parliamentary system of government with a unicameral legislature. On October 7, 1958, martial 

law was imposed and the Constitution was abrogated by then President Sikandar Mirza before 

the first general elections could be held.8 The military government of General Muhammad Ayub 

Khan appointed a Constitution Commission in February 1960 that drafted the 1962 Constitution. 

The 1962 Constitution provided for a federal state and a presidential system of government with 

a unicameral legislature. The 1962 Constitution was abrogated on March 25, 1969, as a result of 

martial law being imposed for a second time. 

On December 7, 1970, pursuant to a Legal Framework Order (LFO), a decree issued by then 

President General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan, Pakistan held its first ever general elections 

where the Assembly was elected “on the adult franchise and population basis.” 9 Mujibur 

Rahman’s nationalist Awami League party from the provincial state of East Pakistan won a 

majority of the three hundred contested seats in the National Assembly.10 However, politicians 

in West Pakistan, namely the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), joined forces with the military 

leadership to prevent Mujibur Rahman from forming a government. Already frustrated with 

“under-representation in all sectors of the government, economic deprivation and then the 

suppression of the democratic process,”11 East Pakistan seceded and the state of Bangladesh was 

established in 1971. 

On April 17, 1972, an Interim Constitution was adopted by the Pakistan National Assembly, 

which provided for a presidential form of government. 12 According to the National 

Assembly website, 

 4 Pakistan: A Political History, ASIA SOCIETY’S CENTER FOR GLOBAL EDUCATION, http://asiasociety. 

org/education/pakistan-political-history (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/42MT-6U2S. 

5

 CONSTITUTION OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN (hereinafter CONSTITUTION), pt. 3, ch. II, art. 50, 

http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1333523681_951.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/XER9-V3TZ. 

6 Id. 

7 Parliamentary History, supra note 2.

8 Id. 

9 Id. 

10 Pakistan: A Political History, supra note 4. 

11 Id. 

12 History, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/essence.php?id=1098&catid=4&subcatid=138& 

cattitle=About%20the%20Senate, archived at https://perma.cc/2X29-6TJX. 
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[t]he Assembly also formed a Constitution Committee on 17th April 1972 to prepare the 

first draft for framing a Constitution. The report of the Committee was presented with a 

draft Constitution on 31st December 1972. It was unanimously passed by the Assembly 

in its session on 10th April 1973 and was authenticated by the President on 12th April 

1973. This Constitution, called the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 

1973, was promulgated on 14th August 1973. 

Though the 1973 Constitution is the current Constitution, it has gone through a number of 

significant changes, mostly as a result of two more periods of military rule under Muhammad 

Zia-ul-Haq and Pervez Musharraf, which turned the parliamentary system into a semipresidential system.13 Significant legal and constitutional changes were also introduced in the 

1980s as a result of General Zia-ul-Haq’s Islamization process, including the establishment of 

the Federal Shariat Court and a more enhanced role for the Council of Islamic Ideology, a 

constitutional advisory body on Shari‘a law issues.14

It was not until the Eighteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan15 was passed by the 

National Assembly of Pakistan on April 8, 2010, that Pakistan’s political system was 

transformed back to a parliamentary system of government.16 The Amendment was enacted to 

reverse some of the extensive powers accrued by the presidency under former Presidents General 

Pervez Musharraf and General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, and to empower the role of the Prime 

Minister and Parliament. The most significant change was the removal of the infamous article 

58-2(b), which granted the President discretionary power to dissolve Parliament under “vague 

emergency provisions.”17 The presidency became more a titular or ceremonial role18 and the 

Prime Minister became chief executive.19 Moreover, the time limit given to the President to 

grant assent to a bill passed by Parliament was decreased from thirty days to ten days.20 Holding 

the Constitution in abeyance or suspending it became tantamount to high treason and judges are 

prohibited from “validating or justifying unconstitutional interventions into the working of an 

 

13 Pakistan: A Political History, supra note 4. 

14 The Islamization of the Legal System under General Zia ul Haq (1979–1988), ISLAMOPEDIA ONLINE (Apr. 13, 

2012), http://www.islamopediaonline.org/country-profile/pakistan/islam-and-legal-system/islamization-legalsystem-under-general-zia-ul-haq-1, archived at https://perma.cc/SY7Z-3LQA. 

15 Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, Apr. 20, 2010, 

http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1302138356_934.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/2DSZ-AY7G.

16 Pakistani Stakeholders Take Stock of Country’s Sweeping Constitutional Changes, FORUM OF FEDERATIONS, 

http://www.forumfed.org/events/pakistani-stakeholders-take-stock-of-countrys-sweeping-constitutional-changes/, 

(last visited Mar. 1, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/W74E-JXZV. 

17 Colin Cookman, The 18th Amendment and Pakistan’s Political Transitions, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

(Apr. 19, 2010), https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/security/news/2010/04/19/7587/the-18th-amendmentand-pakistans-political-transitions/, archived at https://perma.cc/FX92-GKSN. 

18 Amjad Abbas Magsi, Balance of Power at the Centre: The President, Prime Minister and Parliament, in

ISLAMABAD POLICY RESEARCH INSTITUTE, EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT REVISITED 65 (Maqsudul Hasan Nuri et al. 

eds., 2014), http://www.ipripak.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/18th-amend.pdf, archived at 

https://perma.cc/3CEQ-S8RN. 

19 Id. at 67. 

20 Muhammad Hanif & Muhammad Nawaz Khan, 18th Amendment Revisited, in EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT 

REVISITED, supra note 18, at 41. 
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elected civilian government.”21 As a result of the Amendment, the President cannot appoint the 

Prime Minister; the Prime Minister is now elected with a simple majority of the 

National Assembly.22

B. Location of Parliament 

The location of Pakistan’s Parliament House has shifted throughout its constitutional history. 

The first Constitutional Assembly of Pakistan was located in the old Sindh Assembly Building of 

Karachi, which is the venue where the Objectives Resolution (Pakistan’s first constitutional 

document) and the 1956 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were adopted.23 It also 

housed the first Parliament of Pakistan. 

After the adoption of the Second Constitution of 1962, parliamentary sessions were held both at 

Dhaka and in a newly constructed building at Rawalpindi called Ayub Hall. The Parliament was 

unicameral under the 1962 Constitution. In October 1966, the Parliament was shifted to Dhaka 

(which later became the capital of Bangladesh).24

From 1972 onward, the State Bank auditorium in Islamabad functioned as the National 

Assembly of Pakistan. Under the Interim Constitution of Pakistan, which was adopted in April 

1972, Pakistan’s first bicameral legislature was established. The Constitution of the Islamic 

Republic of Pakistan was later adopted in 1973.25

The Parliament House building in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, was inaugurated on 

May 28, 1986. It took exactly eleven years to build and was designed by Edward Durel Stone, 

an American architect.26

II. Constitutional Status and Role 

Pakistan is an Islamic federal republic with a multiparty, parliamentary system of government 

largely based on the UK model.27 Islam is the state religion of Pakistan.28 The country is a 

 

21 Babar Sattar, 18th Constitutional Amendment & Need for Passage of the 19th Constitutional Amendment, in

EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT REVISITED, supra note 18, at 74. 

22 Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, § 29. 

23 Brief History of Parliament Houses in Pakistan, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, http://www.na.gov.pk/ 

en/content.php?id=25 (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/M9RN-D5Q8. 

24 Id. 

25 Id. 

26 The Parliament House, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/parliament.php?id=-1&catid=4& 

subcatid=267&cattitle=Parliament%20House (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/TG7U-GENA. 

27 Parliamentary Institutions, in HOUSE OF COMMONS PROCEDURE AND PRACTICE (Robert Marleau & Camille 

Montpetit eds., 2000), http://www.parl.gc.ca/marleaumontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?Sec=Ch01&Seq= 

2&Language=E, archived at https://perma.cc/P8S5-URLE. 

28 POLITICAL SYSTEM AND STATE STRUCTURE OF PAKISTAN, CIDOB INTERNATIONAL YEARBOOK 2012,

http://www.cidob.org/en/content/download/32418/526985/file/ANEXO_SISTEMA+POLITICO+Y+ESTRUCTUR

A+DE+PAKISTAN_ANG.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/C8KF-R73M. 
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federation with four federating Units or provinces, namely Punjab, Sindh, the Khyber 

Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province, NWFP), and 

Balochistan. Pakistan’s federal Parliament, known as the Majlis-e-Shoora, is a bicameral 

legislature consisting of two houses—the National Assembly and the Senate.29 It makes up the 

legislative branch of Pakistan’s political system. According to the National Assembly’s 

Handbook for Members, 

[t]he National Assembly is the country’s sovereign legislative body. It embodies the will 

of the people to let themselves be governed under the democratic, multi-party Federal 

Parliamentary System . . . . Through its debates, adjournment motions, question hour and 

Standing Committees, the National Assembly keeps a check over the Executive, and 

ensures that the government functions within the parameters set out in the Constitution 

and does not violate the fundamental rights of the citizens. Only the National Assembly, 

through its Public Accounts Committee, scrutinizes public spending and exercises control 

of expenditure incurred by the government.30

Article 90 of the Constitution states that “the executive authority of the Federation shall be 

exercised in the name of the President by the Federal Government, consisting of the Prime 

Minister and the Federal Ministers, which shall act through the Prime Minister, who shall be the 

chief executive of the Federation.”31 The Cabinet Ministers are made up of members from both 

houses of Parliament. According to article 91(4) of the Constitution, the Cabinet “is collectively 

responsible to the National Assembly, which elects the Prime Minister.”32 However, the number 

of Cabinet ministers who are members of the Senate must not exceed one-fourth of the number 

of federal ministers.33

Article 41(2) of the Constitution stipulates that a person shall not be qualified for election as 

President unless he is a Muslim of not less than forty-five years of age and is qualified to be 

elected as a member of the National Assembly.34 The President is elected for a term of five 

years by an Electoral College consisting of the members of both houses of Parliament, as well as 

members of the provincial assemblies.35 The President is considered the head of state. The 

Prime Minister, who is the head of Government, typically comes to office as the leader of the 

majority party of the National Assembly.36 

 

29 Id. 

30 NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS 5, http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1308 

927787_544.pdf (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/JJD7-27UN. 

31 CONSTITUTION, pt. III, ch. 3, art. 90. 

32 HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS, supra note 30, at 6. 

33 Id. (citing CONSTITUTION, pt. III, ch. 3, art. 92). 

34 CONSTITUTION, pt. III, ch. 1, art. 41(2). 

35 Id. art. 41(3). 

36 Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, Apr. 20, 2010, 

http://www.na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/1302138356_934.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/2DSZ-AY7G.
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The legislative powers of the federal Parliament are stipulated by the Fourth Schedule of the 

Constitution of Pakistan, which provides a “Federal Legislative List”37 of matters over which 

Parliament has exclusive jurisdiction to legislate. Prior to the enactment of the Eighteenth 

Amendment to Pakistan’s Constitution 38 a “Concurrent Legislative List” existed, which 

enumerated shared or overlapping competencies with the provincial legislatures39 but where 

federal law prevails.40 After the amendment, fifty-three subjects were in the exclusive domain of 

the federal government; eighteen subjects in the domain of the Council of Common Interests 

(CCI), a constitutional body that allows “provincial governments to participate in the formulation 

of policy on a list of matters that fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government but which 

inevitably concern provinces”; 41 and all residual subjects were devolved to the provincial 

governments.42 Those residual matters include such matters as “marriage, contracts, firearms 

possession, labor, educational curriculums, environmental pollution, bankruptcy, and 40 other 

diverse areas.”43 With the Concurrent Legislative List eliminated, each provincial assembly had 

jurisdiction for drafting its own laws on such matters.44 

Each province of Pakistan has its own elected legislative body known as a Provincial Assembly, 

which sits in the provincial capitals of Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta.45 

III. Structure and Composition 

A. Senators and Members 

Pakistan’s federal legislative branch consists of the President, the National Assembly as the 

lower house, and the Senate as the upper house. The National Assembly and Senate constitute 

Pakistan’s bicameral Parliament. 

1. National Assembly 

The National Assembly has 342 seats, with sixty of these seats reserved for women and ten for 

non-Muslims.46 Seats are allocated to each province, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas 

 

37 CONSTITUTION, 4th sched. 

38 Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010. 

39 Id. 

40 Cookman, supra note 17. 

41 Pakistani Stakeholders Take Stock of Country’s Sweeping Constitutional Changes, supra note 16. 

42 UNDP Pakistan, Analysis: Five Years of the 18th Constitutional Amendment: Federalist Imperatives on Public 

Policy and Planning, 2(1) DEVELOPMENT ADVOCATE PAKISTAN 3 (Apr. 2015), 

http://www.pk.undp.org/content/dam/pakistan/docs/DevelopmentPolicy/DAP%20April%202015%20ENGLISH.pdf

?download, archived at https://perma.cc/6UVW-FCYU. 

43 Cookman, supra note 17. 

44 Id.

45 International Foundation of Electoral Systems, Provincial Assemblies: Pakistan Factsheet 1 (2013), 

http://www.ifes.org/sites/default/files/the_provincial_assembly.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/BL9M-GEJL. 

46 CONSTITUTION, pt. III, ch. 2, art. 51. 
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(FATAs), and the Federal Capital on the basis of population, as officially published in the last 

preceding census.47 The National Assembly must be dissolved at the expiration of a five-year 

term but can be terminated earlier by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister.48 

According to an International Foundation of Electoral Systems’ fact sheet, 

[t]he President may also dissolve the [National Assembly] at his/her own discretion if a 

motion of no-confidence is passed against the incumbent Prime Minister and no other 

member of the Assembly commands the confidence of a majority of members.49

Therefore, the tenure of a member of the National Assembly “is for the duration of the House, 

which is five years (Article 52), or sooner, in case the member dies or resigns,” or if the 

Assembly is dissolved.50

A political party or a coalition is required to receive 172 seats to have a majority in the National 

Assembly51 in order to form a government.52 If there is no party that has a majority the political 

party with a plurality of seats is invited to form a government through coalition partners. 

Currently, the Pakistan Muslim League (N) holds the most seats in the National Assembly, with 

188. The other major political parties consist of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) (46), Pakistan 

Tahreek e Insaf (PTI) (33), Muttahidda Qaumi Movement (MQM) (23), and Jamiat Ulama e 

Islam (F) (13). 

2. Senate 

The Senate of Pakistan grants equal representation to all federating units, “which is in line with 

the constitutional role attributed to the Upper House i.e. promotion of national cohesion and 

harmony.”53 According to the Senate of Pakistan website, 

[t]he main purpose for the creation of the Senate of Pakistan was to give equal 

representation to all the federating units since the membership of the National Assembly 

was based on the population of each province. Equal provincial membership in the 

 

47 Id. art. 51(5). 

48 Id. art. 52. 

49 International Foundation of Electoral Systems, National Assembly: Pakistan Factsheet 1 (2013), 

https://www.ifes.org/sites/default/files/the_national_assembly_of_pakistan.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/3GWDWA3F. 

50 HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS, supra note 30, at 13. 

51 Country Research Section, Refugee Review Tribunal/Migration Review Tribunal Australia, The Republic & 

States of India at a Glance 7 (Dec. 2008), available at http://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4f4610f62.pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/WU5Q-CD5W. 

52 Glossary of Parliamentary Terms for Younger Students, PARLIAMENT OF CANADA, http://www.parl.gc.ca/ 

About/Parliament/Education/GlossaryElementary/index.asp?Language=E (last updated Feb. 2005), archived at 

https://perma.cc/E9XG-QB8J. 

53 Home, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/index.php?id=-1&cattitle=Home (last visited Feb. 6, 

2017), archived at https://perma.cc/Z9G6-MBAH. 
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Senate, thus, balances the provincial inequality in the National Assembly and dispels 

doubts and apprehension, if any, regarding deprivation and exploitation.54

The Senate of Pakistan consists of 104 members elected indirectly by the members of the 

National Assembly and the members of the provincial assemblies.55 Each of the four provincial 

assemblies elects twenty-three members from their respective provinces, including fourteen 

Senators to general seats, four women, four technical experts including Ulema (religious 

scholars), and one non-Muslim.56 The members of the National Assembly from FATAs elect 

eight Senators to represent the FATAs. All members of the National Assembly also elect two 

Senators to general seats, one woman, and one technical expert or Alim (religious scholar) to 

represent the Federal Capital.57 Unlike the National Assembly, which is subject to dissolution, 

the Senate is a permanent body and the term of its member is six years. One-half of its members 

retire every three years.58

Of the 104 members, the political parties with the most seats consist of the Pakistan People’s 

Party Parliamentarian (PPP-P) (27), Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) (26), Mutahidda 

Qaumi Movement (MQM) (8), Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (7), and Awami National Party 

(ANP) (6).59

3. Basic Qualifications 

Basic qualifications to be a member of Parliament are provisioned under article 62 of 

the Constitution: 

(1) A person shall not be qualified to be elected or chosen as a member of Majlise-Shoora (Parliament) unless— 

(a) he is a citizen of Pakistan; 

(b) he is, in the case of the National Assembly, not less than twenty-five years of 

age and is enrolled as a voter in any electoral roll in— 

(i) any part of Pakistan, for election to a general seat or a seat reserved for 

non-Muslims; and 

(ii) any area in a Province from which she seeks membership for election to a 

seat reserved for women. 

 

54 Purpose & Role, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/essence.php?id=1102&catid=4&sub 

catid=138&cattitle=About%20the%20Senate (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/7EJA-SCAC. 

55 CONSTITUTION, pt. III, ch. 2, art. 59; see also Composition / Structure, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate. 

gov.pk/en/essence.php?id=10&catid=4&subcatid=138&cattitle=About%20the%20Senate (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), 

archived at https://perma.cc/9GBQ-MMJE. 

56 CONSTITUTION, pt. III, ch. 2, art. 59. 

57 Id. 

58 Home, supra note 53. 

59 Party-wise Senators, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/party_wise_list.php (last visited Feb. 21, 

2017), archived at https://perma.cc/A2MH-NHX3. 
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(c) he is, in the case of Senate, not less than thirty years of age and is enrolled as a 

voter in any area in a Province or, as the case may be, the Federal Capital or the 

Federally Administered Tribal Areas, from where he seeks membership; 

(d) he is of good character and is not commonly known as one who violates 

Islamic Injunctions; 

(e) he has adequate knowledge of Islamic teachings and practices obligatory duties 

prescribed by Islam as well as abstains from major sins; 

(f) he is sagacious, righteous, non-profligate, honest and ameen, there being no 

declaration to the contrary by a court of law; 

(g) he has not, after the establishment of Pakistan, worked against the integrity of 

the country or opposed the ideology of Pakistan.60

Article 62(2) stipulates that the disqualifications mentioned in paragraphs (d) and (e) do not 

apply to non-Muslims but are expected to have “good moral reputation.” 61 A list of 

disqualifications for membership in Parliament are enumerated under article 63, including if the 

person “is of unsound mind and has been so declared by a competent court” or “ceases to be a 

citizen of Pakistan, or acquires the citizenship of a foreign State.”62

B. Leadership Roles 

During the first National Assembly meeting following a general election, members elect a 

Speaker and Deputy Speaker. The Speaker, and in his or her absence the Deputy Speaker, 

presides over the sessions of the Assembly.63 The Speaker is regarded as “the most important 

and the highest office-holder in the National Assembly.”64 The Speaker is also considered the 

principle spokesman of the house in its relations with other parts of the Parliament, and other 

branches of government.65 According to the National Assembly’s Handbook for Members, 

“Speakers are expected to maintain the authority of the House, and to protect its rights 

and privileges.”66 Some of the main functions of the Speaker are to preside over sessions as 

chair,67 preserve order and decorum,68 decide points of order,69 and interpret and enforce rules 

relating to the business of the Assembly.70 

 

60 CONSTITUTION, art. 62(1). 

61 Id. art. 62(2). 

62 Id. art. 63. 

63 National Assembly: Pakistan Factsheet, supra note 49. 

64 HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS, supra note 30, at 17. 

65 Id. 

66 Id. 

67 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, Rule 14(1), http://www.na.gov.pk/ 

uploads/publications/rules_procedure.pdf, archived at https://perma.cc/6J5X-KNCT. 

68 Id., Rule 14(2). 

69 Id., Rule 17. 

70 Id. 
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The main presiding officers of the Senate are the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman. As 

presiding officer the Chairman “chairs the meetings of the House and ensures they are conducted 

in an orderly manner and according to the provisions of the Constitution and the Rules of 

Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate.”71 The Chairman is elected through a secret 

ballot system from among the sitting members of the Senate.72

In both the National Assembly and the Senate, the Leader of the House is the Prime Minister or a 

minister appointed by the Prime Minister to represent Government and regulate Government 

business.73 In the National Assembly the “Leader of the Opposition” means a member who, in 

the opinion of the Speaker, is for the time being leader of the majority of members in the 

Opposition. After each general election, and as early as possible after the election of the Prime 

Minister, the Speaker must declare the Leader of the Opposition. The Leader is chosen by the 

majority of the members of the House. The Speaker informs the members about the date, time, 

and place for submission of a name for the Leader of the Opposition under their signatures. The 

member having the greatest numerical strength after verification of the signatures of the 

members is declared the Leader of the Opposition.74 Similarly, in the Senate, the Leader of the 

Opposition is a member of the house who enjoys the support of the majority of the members in 

opposition to the Government in that house, and is declared as such by the Chairman of 

the Senate.75

Article 87 of the Constitution provides for a separate Secretariat for both houses, to provide 

required support services to Parliament.76

C. Committees 

In Pakistan, parliamentary committees are mainly of two types: Select Committees and Standing 

Committees.77 Standing Committees are of a permanent nature and “play an important role of 

 

71 The Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/chairman.php?id

(last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/8UU7-5L2D. 

72 Id.; Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012 (as amended to Sept. 27, 2016), Rule 9, 

http://www.senate.gov.pk/uploads/documents/updatedrpcb%20upto%2019-01-2017..pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/7SR6-25B5. 

73 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Senate, 2012, Rule 2(1); The Leader of the House, SENATE OF 

PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/loh.php?id=-1&catid=261&subcatid=264&cattitle=Office of The Leader of 

the House (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/UJT3-8R78. 

74 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, supra note 67, Rule 39; Leader of the 

Opposition, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, http://www.na.gov.pk/en/content.php?id=8 (last visited Feb. 6, 

2017), archived at https://perma.cc/NFM8-QJRZ. 

75 Leader of the Opposition, SENATE OF PAKISTAN, http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/loo.php?id=-

1&catid=261&subcatid=265&cattitle=Leader of the Opposition Office (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at

https://perma.cc/W82L-87RU. 

76 HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS, supra note 30, at 35. 

77 Standing Committees, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, http://www.na.gov.pk/en/cmen.php?type=1 (last 

visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/BV3D-ETWY; Standing Committees, SENATE OF PAKISTAN,

http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/standingcommitties.php?type=6&catid=90&subcatid=85&cattitle=Senate%20Committ
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oversight and monitoring the working of the relevant Ministries of the Government.”78 Pursuant 

to Rule 198 of the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, a Standing Committee must be 

established for each ministry of Government.79 The National Assembly website states that “[t]he 

Standing Committees examine Bills referred to them by the House and submit its [sic] reports to 

the House. Upon introduction, a Bill other than a Finance Bill, shall stand referred to the 

Standing Committee concerned with the subject matter of the Bill.”80 The National Assembly 

website also states as follows: 

The National Assembly Rules of Procedure contain special provisions empowering the 

Standing Committees to examine the expenditures, administration, delegated legislations 

[sic], public petitions and policies of the Ministry concerned and its associated public 

bodies and may forward its report of findings and recommendations to the Ministry and 

[the] Ministry shall submit its reply to the Committee.81

Besides departmental committees there are two non-departmental standing committees,82 namely 

the Standing Committee on Public Accounts and the Standing Committee on Government 

Assurances. There are also three functional committees, namely the Committee on Rules of 

Procedure and Privileges, the House and Library Committee, and the Business 

Advisory Committee.83

In addition to standing committees, “the Assembly can constitute, in accordance with the 

provisions of rule 244, Select Committees on Bills and Special Committees to carry out 

functions specified in the motion.”84

Pakistan’s Constitution used to provide for a mediation committee,85 which was made up of eight 

members from each house, “when a bill [was] rejected or not passed within 90 days by the 

 ees & http://www.senate.gov.pk/en/standingcommitties.php?type=6.&catid=&subcatid=&cattitle=&pn=2 (last 

visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/PHR7-LKLR & https://perma.cc/43WP-4JDU. 

78 Committee System, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, http://www.na.gov.pk/en/content.php?id=63 (last visited 

Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/6SXA-SD8S. 

79 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, supra note 67, Rule 198. 

80 Committee System, supra note 78. 

81 Id. 

82 Non-Ministerial Standing Committees, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, http://www.na.gov.pk/en/cmen. 

php?type=6 (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/7ZAP-KDJC. 

83 Committee System, supra note 78. 

84 Id. 

85 CONSTITUTION art. 71. 
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second House of the Parliament.”86 However, article 71 of Constitution was repealed pursuant to 

the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution.87 

IV. Elections 

Members of the National Assembly of Pakistan are elected through a mixed electoral system 

(also known as a “parallel system”).88 Article 51(6) of the Constitution explains the breakdown 

of the electoral system, which is applicable to the various classes of seats.89 Two hundred 

seventy-two single-member geographic constituencies represent the general seats in the National 

Assembly and are elected by direct vote through a first-past-the-post or simple-majority 

system.90 Reserved seats for women and non-Muslims are filled through a separate electoral 

system based on a closed-list, indirect proportional representation system.91 Reserved seats for 

women are “on the basis of [the] total number of general seats secured by each political party 

from the Province concerned in the National Assembly,”92 and for non-Muslims “on the basis of 

[the] total number of general seats won by each political party in the National Assembly.”93 

According to the Constitution, each province is considered a single constituency reserved for 

women while the whole country is considered a constituency for the seats reserved for nonMuslims.94 

Elections to fill Senate seats allocated to each Province “shall be held in accordance with the 

system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.”95

The last general elections were held in Pakistan on May 11, 2013, to elect members of the 

National Assembly and the four provincial assemblies (Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and KhyberPakhtunkhwa).96 The next general elections are expected to be held in May 2018.97

 

86 PARLIAMENT INSTITUTE FOR PARLIAMENTARY SERVICES (PIPS), PARLIAMENT IN BRIEF: PARLIAMENTARIAN’S 

POCKET GUIDE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN 33, https://pips.gov.pk/sites/default/files/010.NA Parliament in 

Brief English.pdf (last visited Feb. 21, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/7ERS-WDNA. 

87 Constitution (Eighteenth Amendment) Act, 2010, § 24. 

88 Mariam Mufti, Pakistan: Ministerial Turnover in the Federal Cabinet, in KEITH DOWDING & PATRICK DUMONT,

THE SELECTION OF MINISTERS AROUND THE WORLD 120 (2015). 

89 CONSTITUTION art. 51(6). 

90 Id. art. 51(6)(a); National Assembly: Pakistan Factsheet, supra note 49, at 1. 

91 CONSTITUTION art. 51(6)(d)–(e). 

92 Id. art. 51(6)(d). 

93 Id. art. 51(6)(e). 

94 Id. art. 51(6)(b)–(c). 

95 Id. art. 59(2). 

96 JOINT INTERNATIONAL ELECTION OBSERVATION MISSION, NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTE & ASIAN NETWORK 

FOR FREE ELECTIONS, FINAL REPORT: THE 2013 NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS IN PAKISTAN 14 

(2013), https://www.ndi.org/sites/default/files/NDI-ANFREL-Pakistan-EOM-Final-Report.pdf, archived at

https://perma.cc/D2YW-YEHE. 

97 Pakistan National Assembly: Last Elections, PARLINE DATABASE ON NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS,

http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2241_E.htm, archived at https://perma.cc/Q268-C7P3. 
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V. Legislative Process 

In order for a bill to become law in Pakistan, it undergoes a legislative procedure in each house 

of Parliament. This procedure is regulated by Pakistan’s Constitution and the Rules of Procedure 

of the relevant house, and involves twelve or thirteen steps.98 Unless both houses pass a bill and 

it receives the President’s assent, it cannot become a law, with the exception of a money bill, 

“which is the sole prerogative of the National Assembly.”99

The steps to passage involve introduction of the bill, a first reading, the select committee stage, a 

second reading, a third reading, and presidential assent. More generally, article 70 of the 

Constitution provides the following rules on the introduction and passage of bills: 

(1) A Bill with respect to any matter in the Federal Legislative List may originate in 

either House and shall, if it is passed by the House in which it originated, be transmitted 

to the other House; and, if the Bill is passed without amendment, by the other House also, 

it shall he presented to the President for assent. 

(2) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is passed with amendments it shall 

be sent back to the House in which it originated and if that House passes the Bill with 

those amendments it shall be presented to the President for assent. 

(3) If a Bill transmitted to a House under clause (1) is rejected or is not passed within 

ninety days of its laying in the House or a Bill sent to a House under clause (2) with 

amendments is not passed by that House with such amendments, the Bill, at the request 

of the House in which it originated, shall be considered in a joint sitting and if passed by 

the votes of the majority of the members present and voting in the joint sitting it shall be 

presented to the President for assent.100

A. Types and Forms of Bills 

Generally there are two forms of bills: new legislation sponsored by Government ministers are 

called Government bills and bills that originate with a member of Parliament are known as 

private members’ bills.101 Both can be passed by a simple majority. 

Bills are also classified by type, according to the subject matter addressed. For example, a 

constitutional amendment bill, which can originate in either house, is intended to amend the 

Constitution and requires a two-thirds majority of both houses to pass. However, a constitutional 

bill that “would have the effect of altering the limits of a Province shall not be presented to the 

 

98 Bill to an Act, THE PARLIAMENT WATCH AND REFORMS PROJECT (PWRP), http://openparliament.pk/howparliament-functions/bill-to-an-act (last visited Feb. 6, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/LR2N-7ZN3. 

99 HANDBOOK FOR MEMBERS, supra note 30, at 6. 

100 CONSTITUTION art. 70. 

101 PIPS, supra note 86, at 16. 
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President for assent unless it has been passed by the Provincial Assembly of that Province by the 

votes of not less than two-thirds of its total membership.”102 

A money bill is a Government bill that deals “with matters of revenues and expenditures, and it 

originates in the National Assembly.” 103 According to Pakistan’s Constitution, a bill or 

amendment is deemed to be a money bill if it contains provisions dealing with any or all of the 

following matters: 

(a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax; 

(b) the borrowing of money, or the giving of any guarantee, by the Federal government, 

or the amendment of the law relating to the financial obligations of 

that Government; 

(c) the custody of the Federal Consolidated Fund, the payment of moneys into, or the 

issue of moneys from, that Fund; 

(d) the imposition of a charge upon the Federal Consolidated Fund, or the abolition or 

alteration of any such charge; 

(e) the receipt of moneys on account of the Public Account of the Federation, the 

custody or issue of such moneys; 

(f) the audit of the accounts of the Federal Government or a Provincial Government; 

and 

(g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in the preceding paragraphs.104 

If any question arises as to whether a bill is a money bill, the decision of the Speaker of the 

National Assembly determines the matter.105 It is the “prerogative of the National Assembly to 

pass the [money] bill with or without incorporating recommendations of the Senate.”106 

B. Overview of the Process 

A federal bill must pass three readings in both the National Assembly and the Senate before it is 

passed into law. 

1. Introduction, Order of the Day, and First Reading 

The legislative process is initiated by the introduction of a bill. Any matter on the Federal 

Legislative List may originate in either house of Parliament—the National Assembly or the 

Senate.107 According to the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure, a minister must give 

 

102 CONSTITUTION art. 239(4). 

103 PIPS, supra note 86, at 17. 

104 CONSTITUTION art. 73(2). 

105 Id. art. 73(4). 

106 PIPS, supra note 86, at 18. 

107 CONSTITUTION art. 70(1). 
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notice when introducing a Government bill. The notice must “be accompanied by a copy of the 

Bill, along with a Statement of Objects and Reasons signed by the Minister. A certificate 

whether it is a Money Bill or not shall also be attached with the notice.”108 Subsequently, when 

the item is called, “the Minister shall move to introduce the Bill, thereupon the Bill shall stand 

introduced.”109 A copy of the bill must be supplied to the members upon its introduction.110 

Ten-days’ written notice is required before introduction of a private member’s bill.111 A motion 

for leave to introduce a private member’s bill must be set down in the Orders of the Day on 

private members’ day.112 Rule 119 of the National Assembly’s Rules of Procedure lays out the 

following rules that must be followed for private member’s bills: 

(2) If a motion for leave to introduce a private member’s Bill is opposed, the Speaker 

may without further debate put the question. When the leave is granted, the member-incharge shall move to introduce the Bill forthwith, and the Bill shall stand introduced. 

Copy of the Bill shall be supplied to the members: 

Provided that when the Bill is opposed at its introduction, the Speaker may 

permit a brief statement to the mover and the Minster [sic] opposing it.113

After a bill is introduced it is published in the official gazette as early as possible.114 It is at this 

point a bill (not a finance bill)115 and must be referred to a standing committee unless a motion is 

carried to dispense with this rule.116 When a bill has been received back from the standing 

committee, or deemed to have been received back as a result of suspension of the above rule, it 

must be set down in the Orders of the Day for a motion in regard to the bill. The following 

motions may be made: 

(a) that it be taken into consideration at once; or 

(b) that it be taken into consideration on a date to be fixed forthwith; 

or 

(c) that it be referred to a Select Committee; or 

(d) 

(e) that it be circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon.117

 

108 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, supra note 67, Rule 120. 

109 Id., Rule 120. 

110 Id. 

111 Id., Rule 118. 

112 Id., Rule 119(1). 

113 Id., Rule 119(2). 

114 Id., Rule 121(1). Rule 121(2) stipulates that “[t]he Speaker may order the publication of any Bill together with 

the Statement of Objects and Reasons accompanying it before its introduction and, if it is so published, it shall not 

be necessary to publish it again after its introduction.” 

115 In Rule 122, the term “finance bill” means “the Bill introduced each year to give effect to the financial proposals 

of the Government for the next following financial year and includes a Bill to give effect to the supplementary 

financial proposals for any period during the financial year.” Id., Rule 122, Explanation. 

116 Id., Rule 122. 

117 Id., Rule 124 (item (d) blank in original). 
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2. Bills Repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam

Before its first reading, a member may raise an objection that the bill in question is “repugnant to 

the Injunctions of Islam.” The National Assembly may then, by a motion supported by at least 

two-fifths of its members, “refer the question to the Council of Islamic Ideology for advice as to 

whether the Bill is or is not repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam.”118 The Council of Islamic 

Ideology is a constitutional advisory body on Islamic law (Shari‘a) issues. Article 227 of the 

Constitution stipulates that “[a]ll existing laws shall be brought in conformity with the 

Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, in this Part referred to as the 

Injunctions of Islam, and no law shall be enacted which is repugnant to such Injunctions.”119 

Article 229 further states, “the President or Governor of a province may, or if two-fifths of its 

total membership so requires, a House or a Provincial Assembly shall, refer to the Islamic 

Council for advice any question as to whether a proposed law is or is not repugnant to the 

Injunctions of Islam.”120

However, the Assembly may at any time proceed with a bill even without the advice of the 

Islamic Council, if it considers that quick passage of the bill is in the public interest.121 If the 

advice of the Council is provided after a bill referred to that body has been enacted and such 

advice is to the effect that the law is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam, the Minister 

concerned must move to have the law considered for further action within seven days of 

receiving the Council’s advice.122 

The bill then goes through its first reading, where it is circulated to members for discussion. The 

principles of the bill and its general provisions may be discussed, but according to the rules, “the 

details of the Bill shall not be discussed further than is necessary to explain its principles.”123 

Moreover, “[a]t this stage amendments to the Bill may not be moved.”124 Subsequently a bill 

may be considered and referred to a select committee or the opinions of all members may be 

elicited. The Rules of Procedure on how a bill may be handled at this stage provide as follows: 

(2) . . . if the member-in-charge moves that the Bill be taken into consideration or 

referred to a Select Committee, any member may move as an amendment that Bill be 

circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon by a date to be specified in 

the motion. 

(3) Where a motion that a Bill be circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon is 

carried and the Bill is circulated in accordance with that direction and opinions are 

 

118 Id., Rule 125(2). 

119 CONSTITUTION art. 227. 

120 Id. art. 229. 

121 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, supra note 67, Rule 125(3). 

122 Id., Rule 125(5). 

123 Id., Rule 126(1). 

124 Id., Rule 126(2). 
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received thereon, the member-in-charge may, if he wishes to proceed with his Bill 

thereafter, may move that the Bill be referred to the Standing Committee concerned or a 

Select Committee or that it be taken into consideration.125

3. Select Committee Stage 

The National Assembly may constitute select committees on bills under Rule 244. These 

committees “may allow the bill to be taken into consideration as a whole, with respect to 

particular clauses or amendments only or with instruction to make some particular or additional 

provision in the bill.”126 The committee presents a final report to the National Assembly.127 

4. Second Reading 

After a bill has been circulated, it then undergoes a second reading, which consists of reading 

the entire bill, clause by clause. According to the Parliament Watch and Reforms Project 

(PWRP), “[t]he member(s) give one-day notice of amendments from the day a bill is to be 

considered. The whole bill, clause by clause, goes through the second reading and the Speaker 

decides if amendment(s) proposed meet conditions of admissibility.”128 The National Assembly 

Rules of Procedure provide that “[t]he Speaker may call each clause separately, and when the 

amendments relating to it have been dealt with, he shall put the question: ‘That this clause (or, as 

the case may be, that this clause as amended) do stand part of the Bill.’ ”129

5. Third Reading & Passage of Bill 

When a motion that a bill be taken into consideration has been carried and no amendment is 

made, the minister who introduced the bill may immediately move for the bill’s passage. No 

amendments may be made at this point “except verbal amendments, which are of a formal or 

consequential nature.”130 Debate on a motion that a bill be passed must be of a general character, 

confined to arguments supporting or rejecting the measure.”131 

6. Repeated in Other House 

After a bill is passed in one house of Parliament, it is sent to the other house for agreement. The 

legislative process of the Senate is very similar to the one in the National Assembly described 

above. According to the PWRP, 

 

125 Id., Rule 126(2)–(3). 

126 Id., Rule 224. 

127 Id. 

128 Bill to an Act, supra note 98. 

129 Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the National Assembly, 2007, supra note 67, Rule 133. 

130 Id., Rule 137(4). 

131 Id., Rule 138. 
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[b]ill(s) except the Money or Finance Bill is sent to the Senate for its consideration after 

its successful passage from the National Assembly. The same process is followed in the 

Senate. Bill(s) passed from the Senate are sent to the President for his assent.132

7. Presidential Assent 

Presidential Assent is the last stage that a bill must complete before officially becoming an Act 

of Parliament and part of Pakistan’s laws. According to the National Assembly website, 

[i]f the Bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall assent to the Bill in not later 

than ten days. If it is not a Money Bill, the President may return the Bill to the Majlis-eShoora with a message requesting that the Bill be reconsidered and that an amendment 

specified in the message be considered. The Majlis-e-Shoora shall reconsider the Bill in 

a joint sitting. If the Bill is passed again, with or without amendment, by vote of the 

majority of the members present and voting, it shall be presented to the President and the 

President shall give his assent within ten days; failing which such assent shall be deemed 

to have been given.133 

 

132 Bill to an Act, supra note 98. 

133 Observance of the Rules of Procedure, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN, http://www.na.gov.pk/en/content. 

php?id=1 (last visited Feb. 8, 2017), archived at https://perma.cc/45RH-Q8PG.