Constitutions & amendments
How Pakistan has been governed since 1947: the founding documents, three constitutions and the amendments that reshaped the 1973 constitution.
How Pakistan has been governed since 1947: the founding documents, three constitutions and the amendments that reshaped the 1973 constitution.
Practice modes
Languages & Literature
Pakistan
World & History
18 July 1947 · British Parliament
Created Pakistan as a dominion and gave it a working constitution until 1956.
The Indian Independence Act 1947 created the dominions of India and Pakistan. Pakistan was run under the Government of India Act 1935, adapted for the new state, with the Governor-General holding wide powers. The Constituent Assembly, which also acted as the federal legislature, was given the task of framing a new constitution.
12 March 1949 · Constituent Assembly, moved by Liaquat Ali Khan
Set the guiding principles for all of Pakistan's constitutions.
Liaquat Ali Khan moved it on 7 March 1949, calling it the most important event in the country's life after independence. It declared that sovereignty over the universe belongs to Allah, and that authority is delegated to the state through its people, to be used within limits set by Allah. It promised democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as taught by Islam, and protection for minorities. It became the preamble of the 1956, 1962 and 1973 constitutions and, in 1985, a substantive part of the constitution as Article 2A.
23 March 1956 · Second Constituent Assembly, under Prime Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Ali
Pakistan's first constitution; made the country the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
Framed nine years after independence, after the first Constituent Assembly was dissolved in 1954. Iskander Mirza became the first President. It lasted only about two and a half years: Mirza abrogated it on 7 October 1958 and imposed martial law.
1 March 1962 (in force 8 June 1962) · President Ayub Khan, on the recommendations of a commission led by Justice Shahabuddin
Ayub Khan's presidential constitution.
Ayub Khan gave the country this constitution after nearly four years of martial law. It concentrated power in the President, elected indirectly by the Basic Democrats. It was abrogated on 25 March 1969, when General Yahya Khan imposed martial law.
30 March 1970 · General Yahya Khan
Set the rules for the 1970 elections.
Yahya Khan's order ended One Unit (West Pakistan's four provinces were restored on 1 July 1970), replaced parity with representation by population ('one man, one vote'), and required the newly elected assembly to frame a constitution within 120 days.
21 April 1972 · National Assembly, under President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Ended martial law and governed the country until 1973.
After the separation of East Pakistan, the National Assembly adopted an interim constitution with a presidential form of government, which ended martial law. It remained in force until the 1973 constitution took effect.
Passed 10 April 1973; in force 14 August 1973 · National Assembly, under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (passed unanimously)
Pakistan's present constitution: federal, parliamentary and Islamic.
Drafted by an all-party committee and passed unanimously, it is Pakistan's present constitution. Bhutto became Prime Minister and Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry President. It was suspended under Zia (1977–85) and held in abeyance under Musharraf (1999–2002), and has been amended many times; the Eighteenth Amendment (2010) largely restored its original parliamentary form.
May 1974
Changed the constitution after the recognition of Bangladesh.
Removed references to East Pakistan from the constitution following Pakistan's recognition of Bangladesh in February 1974, and redefined the country's territories.
7 September 1974
Defined a Muslim and declared Ahmadis non-Muslims.
Added a definition of 'Muslim' based on belief in the finality of the prophethood of Muhammad (PBUH), and declared Ahmadis (Qadianis) non-Muslims for the purposes of the constitution and law.
November 1985
Gave the President power to dismiss the National Assembly (Article 58(2)(b)).
Validated the actions of Zia's martial law and moved the system towards a semi-presidential one. Article 58(2)(b) allowed the President to dissolve the National Assembly; it was used to dismiss the governments of Junejo (1988), Benazir Bhutto (1990, 1996) and Nawaz Sharif (1993).
April 1997
Removed the President's power to dissolve the National Assembly.
Passed within minutes by Nawaz Sharif's large majority, it repealed Article 58(2)(b) and took away the President's discretion over appointing service chiefs and governors.
July 1997
Introduced the anti-defection clause (Article 63A).
Allowed party leaders to unseat members of parliament who defected or voted against party instructions, to stop 'floor crossing'.
December 2003
Validated Musharraf's Legal Framework Order and restored Article 58(2)(b).
Agreed with the religious alliance MMA. It validated most of Musharraf's Legal Framework Order 2002, restored the President's power to dissolve the National Assembly (subject to Supreme Court review), and included Musharraf's promise to give up his army post by the end of 2004, which he did not keep until 2007.
19 April 2010
Restored parliamentary democracy and gave provinces much more autonomy.
The most far-reaching change since 1973, amending about 100 articles. It removed Article 58(2)(b), abolished the Concurrent Legislative List and transferred many subjects to the provinces, renamed NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, added the right to education (Article 25A) and right to information (19A), strengthened the Council of Common Interests, extended Article 6 to holding the constitution in abeyance, and set up a new system for appointing judges.
January 2011
Changed the judges' appointment process after the Supreme Court's concerns.
Increased the role of senior judges in the Judicial Commission and limited the parliamentary committee's power to reject nominations, after the Supreme Court raised concerns about the Eighteenth Amendment.
February 2012
Strengthened the Election Commission and set rules for caretaker governments.
Made the Election Commission more independent and required caretaker prime ministers and chief ministers to be chosen through consultation between the government and the opposition.
January 2015
Set up military courts to try terrorism cases for two years.
Passed after the December 2014 attack on the Army Public School, it allowed military courts to try civilians accused of terrorism for two years; the Twenty-third Amendment (2017) extended them for two more years.
May 2018
Merged FATA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Merged the Federally Administered Tribal Areas into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ending the colonial-era Frontier Crimes Regulation and extending courts and provincial government to the tribal districts.
October 2024
Changed how the Chief Justice is chosen and created constitutional benches.
A Special Parliamentary Committee now chooses the Chief Justice from the three most senior Supreme Court judges, for a fixed three-year term. It created constitutional benches to hear constitutional cases, added the right to a clean and healthy environment (Article 9A), and set 1 January 2028 as the target for ending riba (interest).
November 2025
Created a Federal Constitutional Court and the post of Chief of Defence Forces.
Set up a Federal Constitutional Court to hear constitutional cases, leaving the Supreme Court with other appeals. It created the post of Chief of Defence Forces, held by the army chief, replacing the Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, and gave constitutional protection to the ranks of Field Marshal and its equivalents.