Multi-level Governance in

Pakistan:

Module VIII
 Pillars of State
• Federal Govt. consists of following branches

– Executive
– Legislative
– Judiciary
 Legislature
• Legislative Branch comprises of elected
(directly or indirectly) elected representatives

• President is the head of the state

• Parliament (Majlis-e-shora)
– Senate (Upper House)
– National Assembly (Lower House)
 Legislature
• Senate
– 100 members
– 22 from each province
– 4 from Federal Capital
– 8 members from FATA
– 17 seats are reserved for
women
– Each member is elected for
a six years term
– Elected indirectly through
the system of proportional
representation
• National Assembly
– 342 Members
– 272 general seats
(directly elected)
– 60 seats for women
– 10 for non-Muslims
– General seats are
filled by direct and
free vote
National Assembly
 Function of National Assembly
• The National Assembly, Pakistan's sovereign legislative body, makes laws for
the federation under powers spelled out in the Federal Legislative List given in
the Constitution

• Through debates, adjournment motions, question hour, and Standing

Committees, the National Assembly keeps a check on the Govt.

• It ensures that the Govt. functions with in the parameters set out in
Constitution and does not violate the people’s fundamental rights

• The Parliament scrutinizes public spending and exercises control of

expenditure incurred by the Govt. through the work of relevant Standing
Committees. The Public Accounts Committee has a special role to review the
report of the Auditor General
 Function of Senate
• The 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 Senate, thus, balances the provincial
inequality in the National Assembly and dispels doubts and apprehension, if
any, regarding deprivation and exploitation.
• The role of the Senate is to promote national cohesion and harmony and to
alleviate fears of the smaller provinces regarding domination by any one
province because of its majority, in the National Assembly.
• The Senate, is a body which represents the provinces/territories of the
country and promotes a feeling of equality, peace and harmony, which is so
essential for the growth and prosperity of a nation. Thus, the Senate in
Pakistan, over the years, has emerged as an essential organ and a stabilizing
factor of the federation.
Provincial Assemblies
 Provincial Assemblies
• Powers and Limitations
• The Provincial Assembly is empowered to make laws for the Province of the Punjab with respect
to criminal law, criminal procedure, evidence and any matter not enumerated in the Federal
Legislative List. It cannot, however, make any law −

– which is repugnant to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah; or
– which is repugnant to any provision of the Constitution;
– which is inconsistent with a federal law; or
– which violates or contravenes any of the fundamental rights; or
– which is not in consonance with the Principles of Policy.

• Overseeing the Government

– Various parliamentary tools have been provided in the Rules of Procedure of the Provincial Assembly of
Punjab 1997 for obtaining necessary information about the working of the Government Departments, for
overseeing the Government, and for making recommendations on matters of general public importance; viz.-
Assembly Questions, Call Attention Notices, Adjournment Motions, Resolutions and General Discussion.
 Provincial Assemblies
• Financial Accountability

– Mode of Financial Accountability

– The Assembly exercises its control over the financial affairs of the Government in two ways; viz
consideration as well as approval of the budget and consideration of the Reports of the Auditor
General of Pakistan by Public Accounts Committees.
– Pre-budget Discussion
– The Assembly holds discussion for at least four days in a session which is held during the months of
January to March each year, inviting proposals from the Members for the next year’s budget. The
proposals are sent to the Government through a resolution of Assembly.
– Passing of Budget
– A Provincial Government is required to lay a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of
the Provincial Government known as ‘Annual Budget Statement’ for the next financial year before the
Assembly. The Budget is presented to the Assembly on such day and at such time as the Governor may
appoint. The Finance Minister, or a Minister acting on his behalf, presents the Budget. The Budget is
not referred to any Committee, and the Assembly considers it in two stages −
– general discussion on the Budget as a whole; and
– discussion and voting on demands for grants, including voting on motions for reduction, if any.
 Judiciary
• Judiciary refers to the system of law courts that
administer justice and constitute the judicial branch of
Govt.

• The Purpose of legal system is to provide a system for

interpreting and enforcing the law

• The Purpose of a legal system is to provide a

systematic, orderly, and predictable mechanism for
resolving disagreements
 Function of Judicial System
• Judiciary performs following functions

– Adjudication (Arbitration, negotiation)

– Legislation
– Execution
– Interpretation
 Function of Judicial System
• Adjudication

– This is core of any legal system, in its judicial function, a legal

system adjudicates disputes, issuing a decision as to how the
disagreement should be settled

• Legislative Function

– The purpose of legislative function is to determine the rules that

will govern process of adjudication
– It tells how the adjudication would be done
 Function of Judicial System
• Execution Function

– It gives the legal system its teeth, providing incentives for peaceful behavior; both domestic
law enforcement and national defense under the executive function
– It operates at two levels, first, disputing parties submit to adjudication, second, the involved
parties actually comply with settlement eventually reached through judicial process
– In its executive function the legal system may rely on
• coercive force
• Voluntary social sanctions
• Or combination of two

• Interpretation of Constitution

– Legislature is responsible for legislation, however, interpretation of legislation is done by the

supreme court or the constitutional court
 Pakistan’s Judicial System
• The Govt. of India Act 1935 was retained as a
provisional Constitution of Pakistan at the time of
independence in 1947
• As consequence, the legal and judicial system of the
British period continued with due adaptation and
modification, to suit the requirements of the new
Republic
• Pakistan is an Islamic Republic, Islam is the state
religion, and Constitution requires that law be
consistent with Islam
 Hierarchy of Courts

• Supreme Court of Pakistan

• Federal Shariat Court of Pakistan
• High Courts
• District and Session Courts
• Special Tribunals
 Supreme Court of Pakistan
• The Supreme Court was created under the Constitution of 1956
• It succeeded the Federal Court, set up in 1948, which was successor to the
Federal Court of India, established in 1937
• The Supreme Court of Pakistan is the highest appellate court of the country
and court of last resort. It is the final arbiter of the law and the Constitution
• Its orders/decisions are binding on all other courts in the country. All
executive and judicial authorities are bound to act in aid of the Supreme
Court
• The Constitution provides for the independence of judiciary and its
separation from the executive. The Constitution assigns the Supreme Court a
unique responsibility of maintaining harmony and balance between the three
pillars of the State, namely, the Legislature, the Executive and the Judiciary
• As guardian of the Constitution, the Court is required to preserve, protect
and defend this basic document.
 Supreme Court of Pakistan
• The Supreme Court exercises original, appellate and review
jurisdiction
• It possesses exclusive original jurisdiction for the settlement of
intergovernmental disputes between Federal and Provincial
Government(s) or Provincial Governments
• The Supreme Court can also exercise original jurisdiction, with respect
to the enforcement of fundamental rights, if the case involves an issue
of public importance
• The Court also exercises advisory jurisdiction, where under the
President may obtain its opinion on a question of law
• Under its appellate jurisdiction, the Court entertains appeals against
orders and decisions of High Courts and other special courts/tribunals.
 Supreme Court of Pakistan
• Court Composition

– The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan under Article 176 envisages

that the number of Judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan shall be
determined by an Act of Parliament
– In the light of this provision  “The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act,
1997” has determined that the number of the Judges of the Supreme Court
of Pakistan other than the Chief Justice shall be sixteen
– A person with five years experience as a Judge of High Court or 15 years
experience as advocate of High Court is eligible to be appointed as a Judge of
the Supreme Court
– The Chief Justice of Pakistan and each of other judges of the Supreme Court
shall be appointed by the President in accordance with Article 175A, inserted
through 18th and 19th Constitutional amendments.
 Supreme Court of Pakistan
•Judges Appointment

–These Constitutional amendments have devised a new scheme for appointment of Judges of the
Supreme Court, Federal Shariat Court and High Courts
–These Constitutional amendments provide for the constitution of Judicial Commission of Pakistan and
Parliamentary Committee
–The Judicial Commission of Pakistan consists of Chief Justice of Pakistan as Chairman, four senior most
judges of the Supreme Court, one former Chief Justice or judge of the Supreme Court nominated by
the Chairman in consultation with four member judges for a period of two years, the Attorney
General for Pakistan, the Federal Law Minister and a senior advocate of Supreme Court of Pakistan
nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council
–Similarly, the Parliamentary Committee consists of eight members with equal membership from the
Treasury and Opposition Benches as well as of two Houses i.e. National Assembly and Senate
–The nomination of the members from the Treasury Benches shall be made by the Leader of the House
and from Opposition Benches by the Leader of the Opposition, provided that when the National
Assembly is dissolved, the total membership of the Parliamentary Committee shall consist of the
members from the Senate only.
 Supreme Court of Pakistan
• Judges Appointment

– The Judicial Commission of Pakistan shall nominate a name for the appointment as
judge of Supreme Court in majority after evaluating professional competency and
antecedents
– The recommendations of the Judicial Commission are sent to the Parliamentary
Committee
– The Committee after receipt of nomination from the Commission may confirm the
nominee by majority of its total membership within fourteen days, failing which the
nomination shall be deemed to have been confirmed
– However, the Committee may not confirm the nomination for reasons to be recorded,
by three-fourth majority within said period and forward it to the Commission through
Prime Minister and in such case the Commission shall send another nomination
– The Committee shall send the name of the nominee confirmed by it or deemed to have
been confirmed to the Prime Minister who shall forward the same to the President for
appointment.
 Federal Shariat Court
• The Federal Shariat Court was established by the President’s Order No.1 of 1980 as
incorporated in the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973 under chapter 3A

• Article 227 makes it incumbent that all existing laws shall be brought in conformity with
the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy
Prophet (peace be upon him)

• Chapter 3-A (Article 203 A) which pertains to the functions and organization of Federal
Shariat Court, empowers the court and entrusts the court with the responsibility to
examine and decide the question whether or not any law or provision of law is
repugnant to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of
the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)

• It jurisdiction includes law, any custom or usage having the force of law but does not
include the Constitution, Muslim personal law, any law relating to the procedure of any
court or tribunal
 Federal Shariat Court
• The Court consists of 8 Muslim Judges including Chief
Justice
• Of the 8 judges, 3 are required to be Ulema who are
well versed in Islamic Law
• The judges hold office for a period of 3 years and the
President may further extend such period
• The procedure of the appointment of judges is
similar to that of judges of Supreme Court and High
Court
 High Courts
• There is a High Court in each province as well as
federal capital. Each High Court consists of a Chief
Justice and other Judges

– Lahore High Court 60 Judges

– Sindh High Court 27 Judges
– Peshawar High Court 17 Judges
– Baluchistan High Court 8 Judges
– Islamabad High Court 5 Judges
 High Courts
• High Court exercises original jurisdiction in the enforcement of
Fundamental Rights and appellate jurisdiction in judgments / order of
the subordinate courts in civil and criminal matters

• A High Court has, under the Constitution, original jurisdiction to make as

order;

– Directing a person within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court to refrain from
doing anything he is not permitted by law or to do anything he is required by law
– Declaring that any act done by a person with out lawful authority is of no legal
effect ; or
– Matter related to enforcement of any of the Fundamental Rights conferred by
Chapter 1 of Part II. However, persons of the armed forces would be exempted
 District & Sessions Courts
– District Courts exist in every district of each province, and have Civil and
Criminal Jurisdiction

– In each District Headquarters, there are numerous Additional District & Session
Judges who usually preside the courts. District & Sessions Judge has executive
and judicial power all over the district under his jurisdiction

– The Sessions court is also a trial court for heinous offences such as Murder,
Rape, Haraba offences (armed robbery where specific amount of gold and cash
is involved), and is also appellate court for summary conviction offences and
civil suits of lesser value

– Session Courts deals with criminal cases, whereas, district courts deal with civil
cases
 District & Sessions Courts
– Appointment

• Additional District & Sessions Judges are appointed by

the Provincial High Courts, from a pool of Lawyers and
subordinate judges
• To be eligible for appointment, Lawyers must have ten
years' experience as an advocate with good standing in
the respective jurisdiction
• They must also pass an examination conducted by the
High Courts. Subordinate judges are promoted from
senior civil judges on a seniority basis.
 Special Tribunals
• Banking Courts Labour Courts
• Customs Courts Labour Appellate
• Drug Courts Tribunal
• Anti Corruption Environmental Courts
Courts Special Magistrate courts
• Anti Terrorism Control of Narcotic
Courts Substances (Special
• Family Courts Courts)
• Juvenile Courts Consumer Courts -
 Local Government System In Pakistan
• Every country has multilevel government structures
– Federal, provincial and local governments - political & bureaucratic
• NRB was set up in 1999, to work on reconstruction of institutions of the
State
• New local government system introduced in 2001
– Agenda:
• Rebuilding national confidence and morale
• Decentralization of administrative and financial authority to local governments
– Devolution of power was based on three basic principles
• People-Centered Development,
• Rights and Responsibility-Based, and
• Service Oriented Government
– Three levels of local government:
• district (zila),
• tehsil (taluka)/town, and
• union

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 Local Government System In Pakistan
Democratic and Political Structures

• The democratic system is uniform across the four provinces

– direct elections for seats in union councils
– indirect elections for reserved seats of
• women, peasants/ workers and minorities, tehsils/towns and districts/city districts councils
– Councilors are elected on non-party basis
– Voters age is 18 years

Province Districts Tehsils Towns Union Councils

Federal Capital Area 1 - - 12

Punjab 35 130 38 3464

Sindh 23 103 18 1110

NWFP 24 50 4 986
Balochistan 28 75 2 567

FATA 7 Agencies - - -

Total 110+7=117 358 62 6139

Province-wise position of local areas under LGO 2001

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Local Government System In Pakistan
Organogram

31
 Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2001

• Introduced on 2, August 2001

• Gives devolution plan - a new local govt.
• Section 2, gives definition of respective offices and other
items
• According to sec 2(XXiV) nazim means – Z N, Tw N, Th N & U N
• Zila Nazim
– Ch 4 deals with zila council headed by zila nazim
• Town Nazim
– In metropolitan cities, cities divided into towns as AU looked after
by Z N but almost indep. in their hierarchy headed Tw N
• Tehsil Nazim
– Tehsil based on AU in district run by TMAs headed by Th N
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 Organogram – Zila Council
 Naib Zila Nazim is the convener of the Zila council
 speaker of the District assembly
 responsible to regulate the business of the Zila Council bye-law
 presides over its meetings

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 Local Government System In Pakistan
Organogram - City District Government

 Headed by the District (Zila) Nazim.

 Assisted by the DCO & the DPO
 EDOs are subordinate to the DCO
 All Dept. are grouped & placed under EDO

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 KPK Local Govt. Act 2015
• Local Govt. shall constitute the following
– A city district govt. For Peshawar
– District Govt. for districts other than Peshawar
– Tehsil Municipal Administration for Tehsil
– Town municipal Adm. For a Town in City District
– Village Council for a village in rural areas
– Neighborhood Council for a neighborhood in
areas with urban characteristics
 KPK Local Govt. Act 2015
Devolved Sectors

• Primary & Secondary • Fisheries

Education • Water Management
• Vocational Education • Social & Farm forestry
• Rural Development &
• Special Education
Rural Works
• Mother & Child Care • Communication & works –
• Social Welfare District roads & Buildings
• Sports & Culture • Public Health & Public
• Revenue & Estate Health Engineering
• Population welfare
• Livestock
KPK Local Govt. Act 2015
KPK Local Govt. Act 2015
KPK Local Govt. Act 2015
 Failure of Local Govt.
• Political parties don’t believe in decentralization /
local democracies
• Military rulers used local Govt. to counter the main
stream political parties
• Over centralized Govt. structure and mindset
• Economic constrains & lack of infrastructure
• Bureaucratic hurdles
• Development funds to MNAs/MPAs and senators
undermine the role of LG
• Lack of continuity of political process
Thank You