Constitutional and Political History of Pakistan

Contents: Table of cases. Preface. I. Pre-partition constitutional and political history: 1. The state of undivided India. 2. A colonial constitution. 3. Countdown to partition. II. Constitutional and political developments: August 1947 to October 1958. 4. The birth of a nation and the death of Jinnah. 5. The objectives resolution, 1949. 6. Debates within the constituent assembly. 7. An era of legal battles. 8. The constitution of 1956. 9. The first martial law. III. The Ayub regime: October 1958 to March 1969: 10. Ayub's basic democracies. 11. The constitution commission and its report. 12. The constitution of 1962. 13. Ayub's civilian face. 14. Presidential elections, 1965. 15. War with India and rifts within. 16. The fall of Ayub. IV. The Yahya regime: March 1969 to December 1971: 17. Yahya's martial law. 18. Constitutional breakdown. 19. The birth of Bangladesh. V. The Bhutto Government: December 1971 to July 1977: 20. Civilian martial law. 21. The interim constitution of 1972. 22. The constitution of 1973. 23. Bhutto's democracy. 24. General elections, March 1977. VI. Zia regime: July 1977 to August 1988: 25. Zia's 'operation fairplay'. 26. Bhutto's trial and execution. 27. Hounding the judiciary. 28. The provisional constitution order, 1981. 29. The eighth amendment. 30. Partial democracy and the death of Zia. VII. The post-Zia civilian governments: August 1988 to October 1999: 31. Benazir's first term: a divided house. 32. First Nawaz Government: dismissed and restored. 33. Benazir's second term: the judicial crisis. 34. Under the shadow of the eighth amendment. 35. Second Nawaz Government: storming the Supreme Court. VIII. The Musharraf regime: October 1999 to August 2008: 36. Musharraf and the legal framework order. 37. Musharraf's democracy: seventeenth amendment. 38. Musharraf and the judiciary. 39. Fall of Musharraf and election of Zardari. IX. Constitutional and political issues in Pakistan: 40. Constitutional and political issues. Bibliography. Index.

"This book covers the revised curriculum for LL.B course on Constitutional History of Pakistan, which is a compulsory subject for graduate and post-graduate students studying for a degree in law, political science, Pakistan studies and public administration.

Since constitutional history cannot be taught in a vacuum, the author has included political history so that a new generation of students, lawyers, scholars and general readers can fully understand the impediments to constitution framing in Pakistan and the difficult course it has taken for the past sixty one years.

The second edition includes a chapter on the analysis of constitutional and political issues during the last sixty-one years. The author has updated this edition to meet the needs of students, lawyers, judges and general readers. The text retains the substance of the required syllabi and the author's candid interpretations of constitutional documents and cases." (jacket)