Provisional Constitutional Order
Provisional Constitutional Order | |
---|---|
Territorial extent | Whole of State of Pakistan |
Enacted by | Martial law |
Administered by | Chief Martial Law Administrator |
Legislative history | |
Bill published on | 25 March 1981 |
Introduced by | Zia military Govt. |
First reading | 14 October 1999 |
Second reading | 7 November 2007 |
White paper | Constitution Petition No. 8 & 9 of 2009 |
Related legislation | |
18th Amendment | |
Status: Repealed |
The Provisional Constitutional Order (popularly term as PCO), is an emergency and extra-constitutional order that suspends either wholly or partially the Constitution of Pakistan— the supreme law of land.[1] The PCO fulfills and act as the temporary order while the actual constitution is held in abeyance or suspension.[2] Mostly, the orders have been enforced during the times of the martial law imposed by the armed forces of the country against the civilian governments.[1]
Overview of Provisional Constitutional Order
Provisional Constitutional Order, 1981
Soon after the martial law went into immediate effect in 1977, the constitution of Pakistan was suspended. The first PCO was declared on 24 March 1981 by then-President and chief of army staff General Zia-ul-Haq.[3] It was the first PCO having declared by the President General Zia-ul-Haq in the history of the country.[3]
Under this new order, the senior justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan were asked to take an oath of office under the provisions set by the PCO.[3] On March 1981, President Zia terminated 19 senior justices of the supreme court when they refused to take the oath.[4] Chief Justice Dorab Patel and Senior justice Fakhrauddin Ebrahim declined to take the oath; thus opting for retirement.[4] Interestingly, Senior justiceAnwarul Haq also resigned after refusing to take the oath whilst the Senior justice Mushtaq Hussain who was willing to take the oath was not asked to do so.[4]
Senior justices Hussain and Haq had previously approved Bhutto's hanging were reportedly restrained to take an oath under the secretive directives issued by President Zia.[4] All of these Senior justices were asked to tender their resignation, which they did.[4]
Senior Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan | Oath of Office | Extension under PCO | |
---|---|---|---|
Chief Justice Dorab Patel | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Chief Justice Anwarul Haq | Took oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices Fakhruddin Ebrahim | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices Abdul Qadir Shakih | Took oath under PCO | Continuation at Supreme Court | |
Senior Justices Mohammad Haleem | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (1981–89) | |
Senior Justices K.I. Chouhann | Took oath under PCO | Continuation at Supreme Court | |
Senior Justices Aslam Riaz Husain | Took oath under PCO | Continuation at Supreme Court | |
Senior Justices Nasim Shah | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (1993–94) | |
Senior Justices Shafi-u-Rehman | Took oath under PCO | Continuation at Supreme Court | |
Senior Justices Maulvi Mushtaq Hussain | Not invited to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices M.A. Zulla | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (1993–94) | |
Senior Justices Agha Ali Hyder | Not invited to take oath under PCO | Appointed at the Federal Sharia Court | |
Senior Justices Abdul Hayee Qureshi | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at the Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices Abdul Hafeez Memon | Refused to take oath under PCO | Appointed at the Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices Zaffar Hussain Mirza | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at the Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices Naimuddin Ahmed | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at Supreme Court | |
Senior Justices S.A. Nusrat | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at Supreme Court | |
Senior Justices G. M. Shah | Not invited to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices Ajmal Mian | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (1997–99) | |
Senior Justices Muhammad Zahoor-ul-Haq | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at the Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices Sajjad A. Shah | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (1994–97) | |
Senior Justices Ghous Ali Shah | Took oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices Tanzil-ur-Rahman | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at the Federal Sharia Court | |
Senior Justices Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (1999–00) | |
Senior Justices G.M. Kourejo | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at the Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices Nasir A. Zahid | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at the Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices K.A. Ghani | Took oath under PCO | Appointed at the Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices Saleem Akhtar | Took oath under PCO | Resigned |
Provisional Constitutional Order, 1999
Political tensions arising after the border incidents with India that nearly pushed the two countries at the brink of the war, Chairman Joint chiefs and chief of army staff General Pervez Musharraf immediately imposed the martial law against conservative Prime minister Nawaz Sharif, on 14 October 1999.
General Musharraf effectively imposed the state of emergency and suspended the constitution after introducing the provisional order. Nearly, all Senior justices were forcefully required to take an oath of office under this new order, and concerns were raised that this would "erode the independence of the judiciary".[5]
Senior Justices of the Supreme Court of Pakistan | Oath of Office | Extension under PCO | |
---|---|---|---|
Chief Justice Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices I.M. Chaudhry | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (2005–) | |
Senior Justices Bashir Jehangiri | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (2002–02) | |
Senior Justices I. Hussain Khan | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (2000–02) | |
Senior Justices Sh. Riaz Ahmad | Took oath under PCO | Elevated as Chief Justice (2002–05) | |
Senior Justices Mamoon A Kazi | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices Nasir A. Zahid | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices K.R. Khan | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices | Took oath under PCO | appointed at Peshawar High Court | |
Senior Justices Wajihuddin Ahmed | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices Kamal Mansur Alam | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned | |
Senior Justices A.R. Khan | Took oath under PCO | appointed at Sindh High Court | |
Senior Justices Ch. Mohammad Arif | Took oath under PCO | appointed at Balochistan High Court | |
Senior Justices Munir Sheikh | Refused to take oath under PCO | Resigned |
Provisional Constitutional Order, 2007
In 2007, another Provisional Constitutional Order was issued by General Pervez Musharraf. The PCO was issued on November 3, 2007 and later amended on November 15, 2007. It was lifted on December 16, 2007. Supreme Court Of Pakistan
- Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Rana Bhagwandas _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Javed Iqbal _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Abdul Hameed Dogar _take oath under PCO and become Chief Justice
- Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Khalil-ur-Rehman Ramday _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi _take oath under PCO
- Faqir Muhammad Khokhar _take oath under PCO
- Falak Sher _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Shakir Ullah Jan _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- M Javed Butter _take oath under PCO
- Tassaduq Hussain Jillani _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Saiyed Saeed Ashhad _take oath under PCO
- Nasir ul Mulk _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Raja Fayyaz _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Chaudhry Ejaz Ahmed _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Syed Jamshed Ali _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Ghulam Rabbani _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
- Hamid Ali Mirza _Refused to take oath uhnder PCO
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Omar, Imtiaz (2002). Emergency powers and the courts in India and Pakistan. England: KLUWER LAW INTERNATIONAL. ISBN 904111775X.
- ↑ Lau, Martin (2005). The role of Islam in the legal system of Pakistan ([Online-Ausg.]. ed.). The Hague [u.a.]: Kluwer Law Internat. ISBN 9004149279.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Mehdi, Rubya (1994). The Islamization of the Law in Pakistan. [S.l.]: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-64437-2.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Ghazali, Abdus Sattar (1996). "§ VIII: The Third Martial Law" (html). Islamic Pakistan: Illusions and Reality. Islamabad: National Book Club. Retrieved 24 November 2013.
- ↑ "Pakistan Judges Refuse Oath Demanded by Pakistan's Rulers". Waycross Journal-Herald. 31 January 2000. Retrieved 7 May 2011.