18th Amendment

Contents

Introduction
Background
Salient Amendments
Provision of 18th Amendment
Conclusion

Introduction
On 8th April 2010, Pakistans 18th
Constitutional Amendment was signed into
law.
Removing the power of thePresident of
Pakistanto dissolve theParliamentitself.
It was the turning point of Pakistan from
asemi-presidentialto aparliamentary
republic
It was renaming North-West Frontier
Province toKhyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Cont..
It has a bold effort to decentralize
the Political powers by transferring
resources and responsibilities from
the central government to the
provinces.
PPP Senator Raza Rabbani , the
amendments chief.

Cont..
The amendment bill was passed by
theSenate of Pakistanon April 15, 2010.
It became an act of parliament when
PresidentAsif Ali Zardari put his signature
on the bill on April 19, 2010.
It was the first time in Pakistan's history
that a president relinquished a significant
part of his powers willingly and transferred
them to parliament and the office of the
prime minister.

Back Ground
The power of the President to dissolve the Parliament was
enacted by theEighth Amendment to the Constitution of
Pakistanduring thepresidencyofGen. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq,
before it was removed by then-Prime ministerNawaz
Sharifduring his second term by theThirteenth Amendment. It
was finally restored during the presidency ofGen. Pervez
Musharafby theSeventeenth Amendment.This bill is the first
bill since 1973 to decrease the powers of the President.
In the history of Pakistan from 20032008, albeit under
Musharraf, who was a dictator in Pakistan. The second complete
parliamentary term was completed by the PPP led government
from 2008-2013 which had in fact passed the 18th Amendment.
However, this 2008-2013 term is often touted to be the first
complete democratic change of power without a military
president or a coup de etat in Pakistan.

Changes to the Constitution

Some new features were also introduced into the

constitution, including the following:
The name of the former president of Pakistan, Gen Zia, has been removed from the text of
Constitution
North-West Frontier Province has been renamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The 17th Amendment and Legal Framework Order as introduced by Musharraf has been
repealed
The ban on third time prime ministership and chief ministership has been lifted
Holding constitution in abeyance is tantamount to high treason
Thecouncil of Common Interest (CCI) has been reconstituted with the prime minister as its
chairperson and the body should meet at least once in 90 days
A judicial commission will recommend the appointment procedure of superior judges and the
final names of judges will be decided by parliamentary commission
A Chief Election Commissioner will be appointed through consensus between treasury and
opposition
Establishment of Islamabad high court and benches of high courts in Mengora and Turbat

Impact
292 of the 342 members of theNational Assembly,
the lower house of Parliament, voted in favour of the
amendment.
The amendment turns the President into a
ceremonialhead of stateand transfers power to the
Prime Minister.
The President will no longer be able to declare
emergency rulein any province unilaterally.
The bill also enhances provincial autonomy.
a judicial commission will appoint judges, and the
president will no longer be able to appoint the head
of theElection Commission.

Response
An editorial published inDawnwelcomed
the amendment and urged parliament to
go further and undo the destructive
legacy ofGeneral Zia's rule and reexamine theHudood Ordinanceand
Blasphemy law in Pakistan .[8]
Ahmed Kurd, former president of the
Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan
, said "We fully support the 18th
Amendment.