Forum Pakistan

Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, the first
In accordance with the Indian Independence Act of 1947, its responsibility was to draft Pakistan's Constitution, while it also functioned as the federal legislative body. The first session was opened on 10 August 1947. On 11 August 1947 Quaid-i-Azarn M.A. * Jinnah was elected Chairman of the Constituent Assembly. The Constituent Assembly of Paki tan consisted of members of the Constituent Assembly of India who were from the territories which formed Pakistan. Indirect elections to the Constituent Assembly of India were held in June 1946, when the members were elected by members of the provincial legislative assemblies, one deputy representing one million voters. The elections were held separately for religious communities.

Representatives of the princely states were appointed by their rulers. Eight deputies of the Constituent Assembly gave up their mandates, as the vacancies were filled by members representing refugees. Four additional seats were 'reserved for the princely states. Forty-four members represented the province of *East Bengal, twenty-two the province of *Punjab, five and the province of *Sindh, three. The *North West Frontier Province, the province of *Balochistan, the Balochistan States Union, *Bahawalpur, Khairpur and the princely states of the NWFP were repre ented by one member each.

Non-Muslims were represented by fifteen members, thirteen from East Bengal, one from Punjab and one from Sindh. There were forty-nine members of the *Muslirn League in 1947 and sixty in 1953. The League was also supported by two members from the Scheduled Castes Federation, one representative of the *Parsis, and two women representatives. The opposition was represented by members of the National Congress of Pakistan, sixteen in 1947 and eleven in 1953, and, since 1950, by members of the Azad Pakistan (Free Pakistan) Party. In 1953 there were twenty-seven landowners in the Constituent Assembly, nine businessmen, thirty -one lawyers, and twelve persons from different professions.

The Constituent Assembly was dissolved by a decree of Paki tan's Governor-General on 24 October 1954, because of a political crisis in the wake of the defeat of the Muslim League in the elections of East Bengal (spring of 1954). (See also Constituent Assembly of Pakistan, the second)

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 'Constituent Assembly of Pakistan: Debates', Yols, I-VIlI, Lahore, Karachi, 1947-1955; K. Callard, 'Pakistan. A Political Study', London, 1957; Yuri Gankovsky, v.N. Moskalenko, 'The Three Constitutions of Pakistan', Lahore, 1978.