FIRST CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN

❖ Background :
The First Constituent Assembly of Pakistan came into existence under the Indian
Independence Act 1947, at the time of independence. Its roots went back to 1946
when elections for the constituent assembly of United India were held to decide
the destiny of the All India Muslim League. The first meeting of the constituent
assembly of united India was held on 19th December 1946, but Muslim League
boycotted it since they demanded a separate constituent assembly for Pakistan.
With the acceptance of the 3rd June plan, a separate constituent assembly was
formulated for Pakistan.

The inaugural session of the first constituent assembly of Pakistan was held in
Karachi in August 1947. Mr. J.N. Mandal was elected as temporary chairman of
the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Subsequently, Jinnah was elected as the
president of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, on 11 th August 1947 and
Maulvi Tamizuddin Khan as its Deputy President. The Constituent Assembly of
Pakistan functioned from 1947 to 1954 and involved two major parties—the
Muslim League representing all Muslims except for a few and The Congress
Party representing the twelve million Hindus in Pakistan.

❖ Structure :
There were 69 members in the constituent assembly; this number was increased
to 79 later to give representation to princely states and refugees. The mode of
elections was based on separate electorates. There was a clear majority of Muslim
League in the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, with 60 members out of the total
79. The second major party was Pakistan National Congress with 11 members;
and the third party was the Azad Group with 3 members, a number which later
decreased to 1. The Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was not able to work
properly because its seats remained empty and some members migrated to India.
Members of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan were simultaneously allowed
to take seats of Provincial assembly or they can be Chief Ministers or members
of Central or Provincial Cabinet.

❖ Functions :
Under the Indian Independence Act Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was given
two functions :
 • Primary Function
• Secondary Function

1. Primary Function:

The primary function of first constituent assembly is “ To frame a constitution

for the country”.

➢ To frame a constitution for the country

As a constitution-making body, it was completely independent. The

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan could amend the independence act by a
simple majority and pass laws; moreover, no law could be made without its
approval.

2. Secondary Function:

The secondary function of first constituent assembly is “To act as legislative

assembly”.

➢ To act as a legislative assembly

The functions of the central legislature under the Government of India Act 1935
were granted to the Constituent Assembly. Every bill that was passed needed to
be signed by the President of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan

Though there was no opposition in the Constituent Assembly there were groups
that were critical of the League. On the left was Iftikharuddin a former
congressman and a communist. On right were the religious critics like Maulana
Shabir Ahmad Osmani.

❖ Committee’s:
The first constituent assembly set up several committees to carry out its tasks.

• Basic Principles Committee

Most important of these was the Basic Principles Committee; it was assigned the
task to report per the Objectives Resolution on the main principles by which the
constitution of Pakistan was to be framed. Basic Principles Committee set up
three sub-committees :

1. Talimaat-i-Islamia
2. Fundamental Rights of the Citizens of Pakistan
 3. State Negotiating Committee

➢ Talimaat-i-Islamia

and a special committee named Talimaat-i-Islamia which consisted of scholars to

advise on the religious matters arising out of Objectives Resolution. Basic
Principles Committee submitted its interim report in September 1950 and the final
report in December 1952.

➢ Fundamental Rights of the Citizens of Pakistan

Another important committee of the Constituent Assembly was on the

‘Fundamental Rights of the Citizens of Pakistan’ and on ‘Matters Relating to
Minorities’. It divided itself into two sections, one dealing with fundamental
rights and the other with matters relating to minorities. The interim report of this
committee was adopted by Constituent Assembly in 1950 and the final report in
1954.

➢ State Negotiating Committe

Other committees of the constituent assembly were the State Negotiating

Committee, which dealt with the question of representation of princely states, and
the Tribal Areas Negotiating Committee, dealing with matters related to tribal
areas.

❖ Progress :
The progress of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan can be summed up as
follows:

• 12 March 1949 – Objectives Resolution passed by the Constituent

Assembly on aims and objectives of the future constitution. This report was
well received by the citizens of Pakistan.
• 7 September 1950 – the interim report of the Basic Principles
Committee was presented to the constituent assembly. This step however
marked the beginning of the decline in the popularity of the Constituent
Assembly of Pakistan. This report was criticized mainly by East Pakistan.
• 6 October 1950 – interim report of the Committee on Fundamental
Rights of the Citizens of Pakistan matters relating to Minorities was
adopted by Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. This report got a
comparatively better response.
• 22 December 1952 – the final report of the Basic Principles
Committee was presented. This report was also criticized, because of
opposition in Punjab.
 • 7 October 1953 – Constitutional impasse was over and formation of
the federal legislature was resolved by the ‘Muhammad Ali Formula’. This
report was widely welcomed and helped the Constituent Assembly regain
popularity.
• 21 September 1954 – the Basic Principles Committees’ revised
Report was approved by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

❖ Final Sketch :
The final sketch of the constitution was prepared and the Constituent Assembly
was near to the completion of its purpose. But at this point, the Constituent
Assembly was suspended by Governor-General Ghulam Muhammad, on 24th
October 1954. He stated that the Constituent Assembly had lost the confidence
of the people; this ruined the efforts of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan
which had been working towards formulating a viable constitution for seven
years.