Salient features of 18th Amendment

Introduction:

The 18th amendment of the constitution of Pakistan was passed by National Assembly of Pakistan on 08th April 2010. The core of this amendment was the dissolution of Presidential powers to dissolve the Parliament unilaterally, which was enacted earlier by Gen. Zia-ul-Haq in his Presidency. On April 2010 the Senate passed this bill and after the signature of the then President Asif Ali Zardari it became Constitution (Eighteen Amendment) Act 2010. Astonishingly, it was for the very first time in the history of Pakistan when the President of State relinquished his powers voluntarily. Other than that, changing name of NWFP, criterion for Prime/Chief Ministership, definition of high treason, appointment of superior judges, appoint of Chief Election Commission and children’s right to education are some of the salient feature of 18th amendment of the constitution of Pakistan.

Presidential Powers to Dissolve Parliament:

Hallmark of the 18th Amendment of Constitution of Pakistan is the removal of Presidential power to dissolve the parliament unilaterally and transfer of these powers to the office of Prime Minister.

8th Amendment: Gen. Zia-ul-Haq during his presidency passed 8th Amendment in the constitution to gain powers to dissolve parliament unilaterally.

13th Amendment: Ex Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in his second regime annulled this amendment by passing 13th Amendment in Constitution of Pakistan.

17th Amendment: Again General Pervaiz Musharaf during his Presidency reenacted the powers to dissolve parliament in favor of President.

18th Amendment: Finally, the Government of Pakistan People’s Party Parliamentarian (PPPP), in the presidency of Mr. Asif Ali Zardari passed 18th amendment and annulled President’s power to dissolve parliament, and transferred the same to the office of Prime Minister; turning Pakistani political system back to Parliamentary from Semi-Presidential.

Renaming NWFP:

Upon the wishes of residents of North-West Frontier Province, the name has been changed to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. This change was appraised by all, howsoever; some divisions like Hazara had reservations. In addition to this, the spelling of Province “Sind” and “Baluchistan” were changed to “Sindh” and “Balochistan” respectively.

Inclusion of Fundamental Rights:

In 18th amendment, numerous fundamental human rights have been increased constitutionally; for instance, right to fair trial (Article 10A), right to information (Article 19A) and right to education (Article 25A). Now, it is state’s responsibility to provide free standard-education to children from the age of 5 to 16 years.

Strengthening Democracy by Intra-Political Party Election:

In order to strengthen the democratic culture within state, the intra-political party election has been enacted by amending Article 17 of the constitution. Though, the law for this practice was already in-line but constitutional enactment weighs more.

The Restriction of 3rd time Prime/Chief Ministership Lifted:

The restriction for a person to become a Prime Minister and/or Chief Minister has been lifted. Now after the general election the members of National Assembly by voting can elect the Prime Minister by vast majority, who should be a Muslim.

Appointment of Chief Election Commissioner:

After the 18th amendment the appointment procedure of Chief Election Commissioner is as follows:

• The Prime Minister and Leader of Opposition shall agree on three Nominees.

• Those three nominees shall be sent to Parliamentary Committee consisting of not more than 12 members; 6 from treasury and other 6 from opposition.

• The selected nominee by Parliamentary Committee then shall be appointed by the President.

Appointment of Superior Judges:

For the appointment of superior judges, 7-member Judicial Committee, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan, would be constituted for suggestions and recommendations. Such suggestions would be sent to 8-member Parliamentary committee which reserves all the rights to reject the nominees/suggestions by three-fourth majority.

Council of Common Interests (CCI):

Under 18th amendment the Council of Common Interests (CCI) has been entrusted with way more responsibilities and Chairmanship of Prime Minister has become mandatory. The council would meet once a quarter and would comprise of Prime Minister, 3 Federal Ministers and 4 Chief Ministers; one permanent secretary has become imperative for CCI.

The CCI have now Policy Control of Reservoirs in addition to natural resources of water supply. So, Federation can’t build any Hydro-electric Power Station without prior approval of Province.

Abolition of Concurrent List – Transferring Responsibilities to Provinces:

The concurrent list containing subjects on which both the Parliament and Provincial Assembly can legislate has been abolished and responsibilities as prescribed in concurrent List Part-II have been transferred to Provinces. Some of these are as under:

• Civil procedure including law of limitation.
• Law of Marriage & Divorce.
• Transfer of Property.
• Health Sector.
• Education Sector.
• Islamic Education & Zakat
• Tourism.

Revised National Finance Commission (NFC) Award:

The direly needed change in the NFC Award has been made where no reduction could be made to the share of resources allocated to provinces by previous Commission. An addition to this, now provinces are entitled, as of right, to entire proceeds of excise duty of oil along with excise duty on natural gas. The revenue collected from provinces would be distributed in ratio of 51.5 : 48.5 among Federal Government and Provincial Government on the basis of following indicators:

a) Population 82.00%
b) Poverty & Backwardness 10.30%
c) Revenue Collection or generation 05.00%
d) Inverse Population Density 02.70%
100.00%

Conclusion:

Conclusively, the 18th amendment strengthened the spirit of democracy by promising autonomy to provinces and annulling certain powers of President, especially the one of dissolving Parliament. Where such autonomy has offered dividends to provinces, it has caused impediment in national growth and policy implementation. The case of National Action Plan is before us, where Federation intended to put Rangers in Karachi but Sindh Government was reluctant for the same; the same case was with Punjab Government. However, it’s difficult but not impossible to set aside provincial grievances and work together with Federation for greater National Interest by developing Provincial harmony and national integrity.

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