FIRST AMENDMENT.
- The Constitution (first amendment) Act, 1974 was passed on May 8, 1974, as a result of Bangladesh's recognition. Clause 2 of Article 1 was removed by the Act, which called for the representation of East Pakistan in the federation of Pakistan once the effects of foreign aggression there had been neutralized.
- The maximum interval between the two consecutive sessions of the senates, the national assembly, and the provincial assemblies was reduced from 130 days to 90 days. Article 17 about the freedom of association was amended to provide for reasonable restrictions on the freedom to form associations imposed by law in the interest of the sovereignty or integrity of Pakistan.
- The chief justice of one high court may request that a judge from another high court appear. A high court's chief justice may request that a judge from another high court appear in court proceedings if the judge so requested has given his or her consent and the president has approved the request after consulting with the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief justice of the high courts of which the judge is a member.
SECOND AMENDMENT:
On September 21, 1974, the Constitution (Second Amendment) Act of 1974 was passed, adding Clause 3 which defines who is a non-Muslim to Article 260 of the Constitution. The article is about constitutional definitions. According to the newly added clause, a person who does not acknowledge Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as the final and unquestionable prophet or who asserts that he or she is a prophet in any sense or according to any description after him or her, or who recognizes such a claimant as a prophet or a religion reformer, is not a Muslim for the constitution or law.
THIRD AMENDMENT:
On February 18, 1975, the Constitution (Third Amendment) Act of 1975 was passed. The act was enacted to limit the rights of a detainee held under a statute requiring preventative custody while enhancing the detaining authority's jurisdiction. The initial period of preventive detention was set at one month, after which no law for preventive detention could authorize preventive detention unless the appropriate review board reviewed his case and determined, in its opinion, that there was enough evidence to continue detention beyond one month after allowing the opportunity to be heard in person.
FOURTH AMENDMENT:
The Constitution (fourth constitution) Act of 1975, passed on November 25, forbade the high courts from blocking the issuance of an order forbidding the detention of a person or from granting bail to anyone who had been placed in such a situation. The high court's constitutional authority was likewise limited in the case of a stay on the recovery, assessment, or collection of public funds. Unless the case was finally resolved by the courts within that time, any stay order issued in such a case would expire after sixty days. Before the passage of the fourth amendment, all such temporary orders issued by high courts would lose their validity after 60 days.
FIFTH AMENDMENT:
- The following significant amendments to the constitution were made as a result of the Constitution (fifth amendment) Act of 1976, which was ratified on September 15, 1976: The governor of a province was not required to be a permanent resident of that province.
- The chief justice of the supreme court will hold office for a period of five years, while the chief justice of a high court will hold office for a period of four years, with the period for Separation of the judiciary from the executive being increased from three years to five years.
- The chief justices who were appointed before the passage of the fifth amendment were also subject to the terms of office.
SIXTH AMENDMENT:
On January 4, 1977, the Constitution (sixth amendment) Act of 1976 was hastily passed. The constitution's sixth amendment bill was presented to the parliament and passed during the national assembly's final meeting before it was dissolved in preparation for new elections. The sixth amendment's primary clause dealt with extended retirement. The chief justice of the Supreme Court who had reached the retirement age of 65 and the chief justice of the high court who had reached retirement age of 62 but had not yet finished their respective terms of service of five years and four years were each given this allowance.
SEVENTH AMENDMENT:
A referendum was allowed by the constitution's seventh amendment act of 1977, which was approved on May 16th of that year. According to a law passed by the legislature, the referendum was to take place. A commission was established to conduct the referendum, count the ballots, and announce the outcome. He would be judged to have resigned from office if the final tally of votes cast indicated that he had. An additional clause of the seventh amendment prohibited the high court from exercising its authority under Article 199 in any territory where the armed forces were supporting the civil power under Article 245.
EIGHTH AMENDMENT:
General Zia was granted the authority to change the constitution by Pakistan's top court in the case Nusrat Bhutto V. Chief of Army Staff. General Zia used this authority on March 2, 1985, when he issued an executive order known as the Revival of Constitution of 1973 Order (Regional Cooperation for Development). Along with many other amendments, the Eighth Amendment added the following clause to Article 58 of the Constitution:
- Regardless of what else is said in Article 48, Section 2, the President may also decide to dissolve the National Assembly if, in his judgment,
- No other member of the National Assembly is likely to enjoy the confidence of the majority of its members by the Constitution, as determined in a session of the National Assembly called for that purpose; or
- This is because a vote of no-confidence was passed against the Prime Minister. Due to a scenario that prevents the Government of the Federation from continuing in conformity with the Constitution, an appeal to the electorate is required.
NINTH AMENDMENT:
During the government of Junejo, the Constitutional Ninth Amendment Bill was introduced in 1986. Article 2, which designates Islam as the official religion of Pakistan, was to be expanded as part of this amendment bill to add the requirement that the tenets of Islam as outlined in the Holy Quran and Sunna serve as the highest law and the basis for all laws. However, any law would also apply to how the government makes policy and would be adopted by both the parliament and the provincial assembly. The bill also aimed to give the federal Shariat court more authority to recommend changes to bring fiscal rules and legislation governing the levy and collection of taxes into compliance with Islamic edicts. However, the parliament never approved this amending bill.
TENTH AMENDMENT:
The National Assembly's annual meeting requirements were reduced from 160 to 130 working days after the Constitution's tenth amendment act of 1987 was ratified on March 29, 1987. Similarly, this amendment changed the number of days the Senate had to meet each year from 160 to 2130.
ELEVENTH AMENDMENT:
On August 31, 1989, a bill proposing the eleventh amendment to the Constitution was introduced in the Senate. Senators Syed Faseih Iqbal, Dr. Noor Jehan Panezai, and Muhammad Ali Khan introduced it as a private member's bill. The report of the standing committee was submitted on August 29, 1990, and the proposed amendment aimed to reinstate twenty seats for women in the national legislature.
TWELFTH AMENDMENT:
On July 28, 1991, the parliament approved the twelfth amendment to the constitution, which had as its major goal the creation of special tribunals for the trial of heinous crimes. Article 212B of the Constitution was added with this objective in mind. It also allowed appeals against the verdict and sentence of special courts to supreme appellate courts, each of which was presided over by a judge from the supreme court and two judges from the high courts.
THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT:
On April 4, 1997, the Constitution's thirteenth amendment act was proposed and swiftly passed by loosening the norms for Constitutional amendment, particularly those about prior consideration and multiple readings.
The most important change was the removal of Article 58(2) b, which gave the president the option to dissolve the national legislature. Under article 112 (2) b, the governors' corresponding authority to dissolve the provincial legislature was also eliminated. The president's ability to appoint governors was curtailed. Previously, the president would consult with the prime minister before making such appointments.
FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT:
On July 3, 1997, Nawaz Sharif successfully pushed through the Constitution's fourteenth amendment act of 1977 with a two-thirds majority in both chambers of parliament. It appears that the purpose of this amendment was to end the defections issue. Similar to the thirteenth amendment, this one was likewise quickly passed through parliament at around midnight. There was opposition present, but the modification was unanimously approved. Article 63-A was inserted into the Constitution as part of the fourteenth amendment. It states that if a member of parliament or provincial assembly violates the law, the leader of the political party to which he belongs or on whose platform he was elected, or through a different person authorized in this regard, may give notice to him to explain his actions within seven days to avoid disciplinary action.
FIFTEENTH AMENDMENT:
The Nawaz Sharif administration attempted to change the constitution once more in August 1998 by introducing the constitution's fifteenth amendment bill on August 28. If approved by the parliament, the proposed modification would have had a significant impact on the constitution's nature. The following clauses were included in the bill. The following new article, designated as Article 2B, shall be introduced after Article 2A in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, hereinafter referred to as the said constitution. Sunnah and the Qur'an are supreme (2B). The supreme law of Pakistan shall be the Holy Quran and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). By the tenets of Islam as outlined in the holy Quran and sunnah, the federal government shall be required to take action to enforce the sharia, establish salat to administer zakat, promote amr bil maroof and nahi anil munkar to eradicate corruption at all levels, and provide significant socio-economic justice.
SIXTEENTH AMENDMENT:
The constitution's Article 27 establishes protections against discrimination in services based on race, religion, caste, place of residence, or place of birth. To ensure those from disadvantaged classes or areas had enough representation in Pakistani government services, an exception was first provided for ten years.
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