ISAS Insights

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a federal, parliamentary democracy which exercises its authority within the limits imposed by Islamic injunctions. The Pakistan Constitution vests executive powers for the federation as a whole in the prime minister and his cabinet, but through a number of ordinances and amendments enacted during the dictatorships of General Zia-ul-Haq and General Pervez Musharraf, the president has been given extraordinary powers to dismiss the prime minister and to dissolve parliament in case he is convinced that the government is not functioning properly. It will be interesting to see if the newly-elected government will seek to change this situation in favour of a strong prime minister and make the presidency a titular office. The Pakistan Parliament is bicameral. It consists of an upper house, the Senate, elected by the provincial assemblies and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), and a lower house, the National Assembly, elected directly by the citizens on the basis of universal adult franchise.