Suitable Form of Government for Pakistan: CSS Solved Answer

Exam question: CSS 2018, Q4: Describe the political system of Pakistan. Which form of government is suitable to make country politically stable?

Syllabus topic: Topic XV of the CSS Pakistan Affairs syllabus.

Short answer

Outline for quick revision

Introduction
Features of Pakistan’s Political System under the 1973 Constitution: Federal structure; Parliamentary form of government; Bicameral legislature; Islamic provisions; Independent judiciary and fundamental rights; Multi-party democracy and elections
The System in Practice: From Written Constitution to Reality: Swings between forms of government; The “hybrid” reality
Which Form of Government Suits Pakistan?: The case for a presidential system; The case for a federal parliamentary system
Reforms to Make the Parliamentary System Stable
Conclusion

Reference colours:
Quotation / documentPersonality / historySyllabus bookCurrent referenceOfficial report / policy

1. Introduction

A political system is the set of institutions and rules through which a state makes decisions and distributes power. Under the 1973 Constitution, Pakistan is a federal, parliamentary, Islamic republic. But in practice its system has swung between parliamentary, presidential and military rule, and the real distribution of power has often differed from the written Constitution.

The question has two parts. The first describes the system; the second asks which form of government suits Pakistan. This answer argues that the debate about “parliamentary versus presidential” misses the point: a federal parliamentary system is best suited to a diverse country like Pakistan, but it can deliver stability only if institutions respect their limits and the system is reformed to work as designed.

2. Features of Pakistan’s Political System under the 1973 Constitution

Federal structure

Pakistan is a federation of four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (Article 1). The 18th Amendment (2010) abolished the Concurrent List and transferred many subjects, education, health, agriculture, to the provinces, while the Council of Common Interests and the NFC Award manage federal-provincial relations.

Official report / policy: The 18th Amendment (April 2010), passed unanimously, abolished the Concurrent List and devolved its subjects to the provinces, removed the President’s power to dissolve the National Assembly (Article 58(2) (b)), renamed NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, strengthened the Council of Common Interests, barred any reduction of the provinces’ NFC share, and added new rights such as free education for children aged 5-16 (Article 25A) and the right to information (Article 19A).

Parliamentary form of government

Executive authority is exercised by the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, who are responsible to the National Assembly (Articles 90-91). The President is the constitutional head of state who acts on the Prime Minister’s advice.

Bicameral legislature

Parliament consists of the National Assembly, elected on the basis of population, and the Senate, in which all provinces have equal representation, protecting smaller provinces from domination by Punjab’s majority.

Islamic provisions

Islam is the state religion (Article 2), the Objectives Resolution is a substantive part of the Constitution (Article 2A), laws must conform to Islam, and the Council of Islamic Ideology and the Federal Shariat Court advise and review on Islamic questions.

Independent judiciary and fundamental rights

The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights (Articles 8-28) and an independent judiciary. The 26th Amendment (2024) and the 27th Amendment (2025) restructured the higher judiciary, creating constitutional benches and then a Federal Constitutional Court.

Current reference: The 27th Constitutional Amendment (November 2025) created the post of Chief of Defence Forces, held by the army chief with authority over all three services, abolished the post of Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, gave five-star officers lifetime rank and immunity from prosecution, and created a Federal Constitutional Court. The government called it a reform for command clarity; critics, including the HRCP and senior judges, said it weakened judicial independence and civilian oversight.

Multi-party democracy and elections

Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of Pakistan under the Elections Act 2017, in a multi-party system dominated by a few large parties and many regional and religious ones.

3. The System in Practice: From Written Constitution to Reality

Swings between forms of government

Pakistan has experimented with a parliamentary system (1947-58, 1973-77), a presidential system under Ayub Khan’s 1962 Constitution, and semi-presidential systems created by the Eighth (1985) and Seventeenth (2003) Amendments, which gave the President the power to dismiss assemblies under Article 58(2)(b). The 18th Amendment restored the parliamentary character.

Personality / history: On 14 May 2006 in London, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif signed the Charter of Democracy, pledging not to seek the military’s help against each other, to restore the 1973 Constitution and to set up a truth and reconciliation commission. Many of its pledges were realised in the 18th Amendment (2010).

The “hybrid” reality

Even under civilian rule, the military has shaped key decisions in security, foreign policy and, through the SIFC, the economy. Many analysts describe the system as a hybrid regime rather than a full parliamentary democracy.

Syllabus book: Ayesha Jalal, Democracy and Authoritarianism in South Asia (1995), argues that the contrast of “democratic India” and “authoritarian Pakistan” is misleading: both inherited centralised colonial structures, and in Pakistan the dominance of the bureaucracy and the military over weak political parties shaped the state.

4. Which Form of Government Suits Pakistan?

The case for a presidential system

Arguments of its supporters

Supporters argue that a directly elected president would provide strong, stable leadership, free from coalition bargaining and the blackmail of “electables”, and could appoint technocrats to run ministries. The debate resurfaced in 2021-22.

Why the argument is weak

Pakistan’s experience of presidential rule under Ayub Khan concentrated power, ignored East Pakistan and ended in mass protest. In a multi-ethnic federation, a single all-powerful office would be dominated by the largest province, deepening the sense of exclusion in smaller provinces, exactly what led to 1971.

The case for a federal parliamentary system

Shared power for a diverse country

A parliamentary system requires coalitions and consensus, giving every province and group a share in power. It is the system agreed unanimously in 1973 and re-affirmed in 2010.

Syllabus book: Katharine Adeney, Federalism and Ethnic Conflict Regulation in India and Pakistan (2007), argues that India’s multi-unit, power-sharing federation contained ethnic conflict, while Pakistan’s centralisation, One Unit, parity and military rule, alienated the Bengalis and the smaller provinces.

Accountability

The government is answerable every day to parliament, and can be changed without a crisis through a vote of no confidence, as in April 2022, rather than by street agitation or coups.

The Quaid’s preference

The founder of Pakistan chose a parliamentary federation, with the Government of India Act 1935 as its interim constitution; every lasting national consensus in Pakistan has been parliamentary.

5. Reforms to Make the Parliamentary System Stable

The problem has not been the parliamentary system itself but how it has been practised. Stability requires: civilian supremacy and institutions working within their constitutional limits; a fully independent Election Commission and credible elections; democratic, programme-based political parties; empowered local governments under Article 140A; strong parliamentary committees and fewer ordinances; real provincial autonomy and fair resource sharing; and a cross-party Charter of Democracy and Charter of Economy so that governments can complete their terms and policies continue.

Comparing forms of government for Pakistan

Presidential: strong leader, but power concentrated; tried 1962-69
Semi-presidential: 58(2)(b) dismissals; 1985-97, 2003-10
Federal parliamentary: shared power, accountability; 1973, 2010 consensus

6. Conclusion

Pakistan’s Constitution creates a federal, parliamentary, Islamic republic, but in practice the system has swung between parliamentary, presidential and military rule and now works as a hybrid. Experience shows that concentrating power in one office, whether a general or a president, has weakened the federation, while the parliamentary system, agreed in 1973 and restored in 2010, offers the best way to share power in a diverse country. Political stability will come not from changing the form of government again, but from making the parliamentary system work: civilian supremacy, credible elections, democratic parties, strong local government and genuine federalism.

Suitable Form of Government for Pakistan: CSS 2018 Solved Answer