18 Amendment 9 Dec 2020-1

The 18 Amendment
th
Subject: Pak Affairs-CSS

By: Imran Zahoor
Ph. D in IR
imranzahoor17@gmail.com
Contact:0321-4800309
Lecture Outline
 The 18th Amendment: An Overview

 Historical Perspective
 Significance of the 18th Amendment
 18th Amendment: Contemporary Debate & Issues
 Supporters Stance
 Opponents Views
The 18 Amendment: An
th
Overview
The 18th Amendment: An Overview
Mr. Imran Zahoor Ph. D in IR 0321-4800309
 The 18th Amendment of the Constitution of
Pakistan was passed by the National Assembly of
Pakistan on April 8, 2010 with 292 of the 342
members of the National Assembly voted in favor
of amendment.
 Removing the power of the President of

Pakistan to dissolve the Parliament unilaterally
 Shift from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary
republic
 Renaming North-West Frontier Province
to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa( KPK)
 Remove limit on a Prime Minister serving more
than two terms
 This Amendment is the most significant document

which changed the nature of the constitution.
The 18th Amendment: An Overview
 Amendment intended to counter the sweeping

powers amassed by former presidents General
Pervez Musharraf and General Muhammad Zia-
ul-Haq and to ease political instability in
Pakistan
 The 18th Amendment introduced more than 100

articles changing 34% of the constitution.
 It was the first time in Pakistan's history that

President transferred his powers willingly them
to parliament and office of the Prime Minister
 For the first time, politicians and political

parities showed unity, maturity and tolerance to
reinforce the federation of Pakistan
Historical Perspective
 The political history of Pakistan had been

characterized by two competing tendencies of
centralization and decentralization
 The 8th Amendment to the Constitution of

Pakistan was enforced by by Gen. Muhammad
Zia-ul-Haq
 The objective of 8th Amendment was to

empower President to dismiss Prime minister
and to dissolve Assemblies under the 58 (2)(B).
 The governors enjoy the same powers in the
provinces.
 With this amendment President acquired the
power to appoint the services chiefs and provincial
governors
 13th Amendment was the reversal of 8th
Amendment introduced by the Nawaz Sharif
Administration in 1997
 13th Amendment revived the original federal

parliamentary character of the constitution
of 1973 and curtailed the powers of President
 It was finally restored during the Presidency

of Gen. Pervez Musharraf by the 17th
Amendment
 17th Amendment or LFO 2002 was the revival

of 8th Amendment to shift powers from
parliament to President office
Significance of 18 th
Amendment
Significance of 18th Amendment
 Strengthening Federation:18th Amendment is the

most rational step to turn the country into a federation
in line with the 1973 Constitution.
 Amendment includes 102 important articles and has made
the 1973 Constitution more democratic
 Reinforce Provincial Autonomy: Provincial

autonomy is increased by affective steps towards
devolution of authority.
 Amendment provides the provinces with strong legislative and
financial autonomy.
 Fifteen ministries has been transferred from centre to
provinces
 Empower Parliament: Amendment restores the

federal and parliamentary nature of the constitution
and authoritarian rules of military dictators have been
removed.
 Restructuring of the NFC Award
18th:Amendment has been the restructuring of
the National Finance Commission Award.
 It increased the share of fiscal resources to
the provinces to 57 %
 Empower Local Bodies: Article 140-A is

retained. Each Province shall, by law, establish a
local government system and will transfer
political, administrative, and financial powers to
the local governments
 Limit the Cabinet Size: The cabinet size

has been limited to 11% of 446 members of the
parliament in Centre and 15 % in provincial
assemblies.
 Ensure the Parliament Supremacy: It

restores the power of parliament by
removing Article 58(2)(b) regenerated the
spirit of democracy that gave the president
the power to backpack an elected prime
minister and parliament
 Consolidation ECP: Election Commission

of Pakistan has been consolidated by
increasing term of Election Commission
from 3 to 5 years.
 The procedure of selection of the election of
CEC is selected both ruling and opposition
members
 National Consensus on hydro-power

Projects: It is made incumbent on the federal
government to consult provincial government
before the construction of new hydro-power
stations.
 It ensures fair distribution of water resources
among federating units
 Ensure Political Stability:18th Amendment

is a major source of political instability to
maintain a balance of powers between centre
and province
 A major cause of political instability in the country
has been the over-centralized rule under military
regimes and strong centre.
 That has also been the reason for the rise of
militant nationalism in country
 Compensation to Deprived Classes
and Provinces:
 Another accomplishment of the 18th Ahmed Kurd, former president
of the Supreme Court Bar
Amendments is that it also boasts to Association of Pakistan, said
compensate the down trodden parts and
classes of Pakistan.
"We fully support the 18th
 Issues of deprived classes and areas would be Amendment. It is tantamount to the
redressed and resolved under the umbrella of overhauling of the constitution,
constitution which had been subverted by military
dictators since its inception. In the
past, parliaments have just been
'rubber stamps', whereas the present
 Caretaker Set up: Caretaker is decided parliament seemed to be well aware
of its obligations, and therefore, was
with the consultation of both leader of 'throwing out' the 'unconstitutional'
opposition and the Prime Minister. amendments
 Family of the Caretaker Prime Minister shall

not contest election
 National Emergency with Provincial

Consultation: The 18th Amendment had
empowered the provinces, giving them a
constitutional voice, whereby the federal
government can not impose emergency
without the consent of the provincial
government
 Moving Government Closer to

People: The 18th Amendment has also
moved the government a few small steps
closer to the people with:
 Greater citizen participation in public affair
 Make governments more responsive and
accountable to the people
18 Amendment:
th
Contemporary Debate &

Issues
18th Amendment: Contemporary Debate & Issues
 The debate over 18th Amendment has
become politically more intense over after
the PTI government came to power.
 The current PTI government wants some

modifications in 18th Amendment
 The PPP and other opposition parties smell a

conspiracy to bring back a unitary system
curbing the autonomy of the federating
units.
 Now there are two group concerned to 18th

Amendment: Supporters and Opponents
Supporters Stance
• According to the constitution of 1973 of the

country, the system of government was
parliamentary, as it is always considered the best
suitable system to rule over the people of Pakistan
• Spirit of the parliamentary system of constitution

is unclear twice before the 18th amendment. Both
of the times, it was amended by the military
dictators for keeping the maximum executive
powers into their own hands.
• Semi presidential system brought immense

political instability and four consecutive
democratic governments were sent home by using
58(2)(b) introduced in constitution by dictator
 Supporters argue that this criticism is baseless

that 18th Amendment has shifted the country
into a way for a confederate structures to
weaken the centre government.
 Issues related to security and finances need

to b addressed but balance of powers
between centre and provinces will strengthen
the federation
• Before 18th Amendment, a major cause of

political instability in the country has been the
over-centralized rule under military regimes
and strong centre.
 The powerful non-democratic forces always

believe on strong centre to exercise their
powers with massive financial resources and
this amendment retrain them to do so.
 A unitary or a presidential form of

government can not provide the solution of
country political and financial problems.
 The amendment also gives the control of

mineral resources to the provinces, removing
one of the major causes of alienation of the
smaller provinces that had accused
exploitation by centre.
 Supporters refute the argument saying

that the federal government is still left
with a surplus after paying for defense
and debt servicing.
 The economy is in trouble but it is not

because of the 18th Amendment. The
economy is critical to national security but
equally important for the continuity of the
democratic process
 Provincial capacity problems in the

discharge of their responsibilities can be
resolved in due course.
Opponents Views
 Administrative and financial autonomy

granted to the provinces under the 18th
Amendment has paved the way for a
confederate structure, thus weakening the
authority of the federal government
 This amendment has transferred of a large

part of fiscal resources to the provinces limits
the financial space for centre to meet defense
expenditures and managing debt servicing.
 PPP realized that in the near future his party’s

popularity would be limited to the province
of Sindh.
 PPP engineered the 18th Amendment as

a way to give sufficient autonomy to the
provinces and to decrease their
dependency on the federal government.
 Political parties, which are the greatest

champions of provincial government, are
not willing to devolve power to the local
bodies

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The 18 Amendment

Subject: Pak Affairs-CSS

 The 18th Amendment: An Overview

 Removing the power of the President of

 This Amendment is the most significant document

 Amendment intended to counter the sweeping

 The 18th Amendment introduced more than 100

 It was the first time in Pakistan's history that

 For the first time, politicians and political

 The political history of Pakistan had been

 The 8th Amendment to the Constitution of

 The objective of 8th Amendment was to

 13th Amendment revived the original federal

 It was finally restored during the Presidency

 17th Amendment or LFO 2002 was the revival

 Strengthening Federation:18th Amendment is the

 Reinforce Provincial Autonomy: Provincial

 Empower Parliament: Amendment restores the

 Empower Local Bodies: Article 140-A is

 Limit the Cabinet Size: The cabinet size

 Ensure the Parliament Supremacy: It

 Consolidation ECP: Election Commission

 National Consensus on hydro-power

 Ensure Political Stability:18th Amendment

 Family of the Caretaker Prime Minister shall

 National Emergency with Provincial

 Moving Government Closer to

Contemporary Debate &

 The current PTI government wants some

 The PPP and other opposition parties smell a

 Now there are two group concerned to 18th

• According to the constitution of 1973 of the

• Spirit of the parliamentary system of constitution

• Semi presidential system brought immense

 Supporters argue that this criticism is baseless

 Issues related to security and finances need

• Before 18th Amendment, a major cause of

 The powerful non-democratic forces always

 A unitary or a presidential form of

 The amendment also gives the control of

 Supporters refute the argument saying

 The economy is in trouble but it is not

 Provincial capacity problems in the

 Administrative and financial autonomy

 This amendment has transferred of a large

 PPP realized that in the near future his party’s

 PPP engineered the 18th Amendment as

 Political parties, which are the greatest

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