Federation, parliament and the provinces

Pakistan Affairs · Government and institutions. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

This note describes the 1973 Constitution as it stood after the Eighteenth Amendment (2010); later amendments may have changed details.

Pakistan is a federation: power is divided between the centre and four provinces, and the Constitution says who does what. Parliament has two houses so that both people and provinces are represented. The National Assembly reflects population, so Punjab has the most seats. The Senate gives every province equal seats, which protects the smaller provinces.

Money is shared through the National Finance Commission (NFC), and disputes over shared subjects go to the Council of Common Interests.

The Eighteenth Amendment (2010) moved the balance towards the provinces. It abolished the Concurrent List, so subjects such as education and health then passed largely to them.

Rules to remember

Provinces and capitals: Punjab - Lahore; Sindh - Karachi; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - Peshawar; Balochistan - Quetta. The federal capital is Islamabad.
Balochistan is the largest province by area; Punjab is the largest by population. NWFP was renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2010.
National Assembly: term of five years, general seats shared among provinces by population; money bills start only here.
Senate: permanent house that cannot be dissolved; members serve six years and half retire every three years; equal seats for each province.
A disagreement between the houses on an ordinary bill goes to a joint sitting, presided over by the Speaker of the National Assembly.
NFC (Article 160): set up at intervals of not more than five years. Vertical distribution = between the federation and the provinces; horizontal distribution = among the provinces.
The Council of Common Interests is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes the four provincial Chief Ministers.

Common mistake

Do not confuse vertical and horizontal distribution. Vertical is the split between the centre and all the provinces together; horizontal is how the provincial share is then divided among the four provinces.

Worked example

A small province fears that a law will be passed against its interests because it has few members in the National Assembly. Which feature of Parliament is designed to meet this fear, and how?

National Assembly seats follow population, so large provinces have many more members there.
The Senate gives each province the same number of seats, whatever its population.
An ordinary bill must pass both houses, so the smaller provinces together can resist a bill in the Senate.

Answer: The Senate, because equal provincial representation balances the population-based National Assembly.

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