The National Assembly of Pakistan (Urdu: ایوانِ زیریں پاکستان‬‎‬ or قومی
اسمبلیِ پاکستان‬‎) is the lower house of the bicameral Majlis-e-Shura,
which also comprises the President of Pakistan and Senate of Pakistan (upper house).
The National Assembly and the Senate both convene at Parliament House in Islamabad.
The National Assembly is a democratically elected body consisting of a total of 342
members who are referred to as Members of the National Assembly (MNAs), of which 272
are directly elected members and 70 reserved seats for women and religious minorities.
A political party must secure 137 seats to obtain and preserve a majority.Members are
elected through the first-past-the-post system under universal adult suffrage, representing
electoral districts known as National Assembly constituencies.
According to the constitution, the 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities
are allocated to the political parties according to their proportional representation.
Each National Assembly is formed for a five-year term, commencing from the date of the first
sitting, after which it is automatically dissolved.
Currently the National Assembly can not be dissolved by the President of Pakistan, it
is dissolved by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Election for 13th National Assembly was held on 18 February 2008.
On 17 March 2013, 13th National Assembly was dissolved on completion of its five-year term
under Article 52 of the Constitution.
Pakistani general election, 2013 (for the 14th National Assembly) was held on May 11,
2013.
Members of 14th National Assembly took oath on June 1, 2013.
The 14th National Assembly dissolved on May 31, 2018 upon completing its 5 year term under
Article 52 of the constitution.
The 15th National Assembly of Pakistan took oath on August 13, 2018.
== History == The first session of the first Constituent
Assembly of Pakistan was held on 10 August 1947 at Sindh Assembly Building, Karachi.
On 11 August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected unanimously as the President
of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the National Flag was formally approved by
the Assembly.
On 12 August 1947, a resolution was approved regarding officially addressing Mr. Muhammad
Ali Jinnah as "Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah".
On the same day, a special committee called the "Committee on Fundamental Rights of Citizens
and Minorities of Pakistan" was appointed to look into and advise the Assembly on matters
relating to fundamental rights of the citizens, particularly the minorities, with the aim
to legislate on these issues appropriately.
On 14 August 1947, Lord Mountbatten, Governor General of India, addressed the Constituent
Assembly of Pakistan.
The actual Transfer of Power took place on 15 August, however.
The Quaid gave a reply to the address in the House, on which the principles of the State
of Pakistan were laid.
On 15 August 1947, Quaid-i-Azam was sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan.
Mian Sir Abdur Rashid, Chief Justice of Pakistan, administered oath of office from him.
The Quaid remained in this position till his death i.e.11 September 1948.
== Powers ==
The Constitution which was passed unanimously by the National Assembly in April 1973, provides
a federal parliamentary system of government, with the President as the ceremonial head
of the State and an elected Prime Minister as the head of the government.
Under Article 50 of the Constitution the federal legislature is the bicameral Majlis-e-Shoora
(Parliament), which comprises the President and the two Houses, the National Assembly
and the Senate.
The National Assembly, Pakistan's sovereign legislative body, makes laws for the federation
under powers spelled out in the Federal Legislative List and also for subjects in the Concurrent
List, as given in the fourth schedule of the Constitution.
Through debates, adjournment motions, question hour, and Standing Committees, the National
Assembly keeps a check on the government.
It ensures that the government functions within the parameters set out in the Constitution,
and does not violate the people's fundamental rights.
The Parliament scrutinizes public spending and exercises control of expenditure incurred
by the government through the work of the relevant Standing Committees.
The Public Accounts Committee has a special role to review the report of the Auditor General.
Senate, the upper house of the Parliament, has equal representation from the federating
units balancing the provincial inequality in the National Assembly, where the number
of members is based on population of the provinces.
The Senate's role is to promote national cohesion and harmony, and work as a stabilizing factor
of the federation.
The Senate numbers a total of 104 members who serve six-year terms which are alternated
so that half the senators are up for re-election by the electoral college every three years.
The National Assembly consists of 342 members.
The Constitution does not empower the President to dissolve the National Assembly.
The Senate is not subject to dissolution.
Only the Parliament can amend the Constitution, by two-thirds majority vote separately in
each House.
== Members of National Assembly ==
=== Qualifications ===
The Constitution of Pakistan lists a number of requirements for members of the National
Assembly in Article 62.
The constitution also details a number of disqualifications in Article 63, which include
mental instability, insolvency, criminal conviction and accepting dual-citizenship or relinquishing
their Pakistani nationality, among others.
Furthermore, an individual would stand disqualified if he or she is found to have opposed Pakistan's
ideology or worked against the integrity of the country, after its establishment in 1947.
=== National Assembly Composition === The National Assembly has a total of 342 members,
including 60 seats reserved for women and 10 for minorities, as per Article 51 . The
seats in the National Assembly are allocated to each Province, the Federally Administered
Tribal Areas (FATA) and the Federal Capital on the basis of population, as officially
published in the last preceding census.
The present allocation of seats is as under:
=== Tenure === The National Assembly is elected for a five-year
term on the basis of adult franchise and one person, one vote.
The tenure of a Member of the National Assembly is for the duration of the House, or sooner,
in case the Member dies or resigns.
The tenure of the National Assembly also comes to an end if dissolved on the advice of the
Prime Minister or by the President in his discretion under the Constitution.
Under the 1973 Constitution, a member of Parliament may not hold the office of the Prime Minister
more than twice.
In the 1990s, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Shareef proposed a bill to amend the 1973 constitution
to allow a Member to serve a third term as Prime Minister.
== Speaker and Deputy Speaker == According to The Constitution
(1) After a general election, the National Assembly shall, at its first meeting and to
the exclusion of any other business, elect from amongst its members a Speaker and a Deputy
Speaker and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the Assembly
shall elect another member as Speaker or, as the case may be, Deputy Speaker.
(2) Before entering upon office, a member elected as Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall
make before the National Assembly oath in the form set out in the Third Schedule.
(3) When the office of Speaker is vacant, or the Speaker is absent or is unable to perform
his functions due to any cause, the Deputy Speaker shall act as Speaker, and if, at that
time, the Deputy Speaker is also absent or is unable to act as Speaker due to any cause,
such member as may be determined by the rules of procedure of the Assembly shall preside
at the meeting of the Assembly.
(4) The Speaker or the Deputy Speaker shall not preside at a meeting of the Assembly when
a resolution for his removal from office is being considered.
(5) The Speaker may, by writing under his hand addressed to the President, resign his
office.
(6) The Deputy Speaker may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker, resign
his office.
(7) The office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker shall become vacant if:(a) he resigns his
office; (b) he ceases to be a member of the Assembly;
(c) he is removed from office by a resolution of the Assembly, of which not less than seven
days' notice has been given and which is passed by the votes of the majority of the total
membership of the Assembly.(8) When the National Assembly is dissolved the Speaker shall continue
in his office till the person elected to fill the office by the next Assembly enters upon
his office.The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the National Assembly.
The Speaker is assisted by the Deputy Speaker.
Both officers are elected from within the ranks of the National Assembly and, by current
convention, are usually members of the majority party.
The election of the two officers is the first matter an incoming National Assembly deals
with, as mandated by the constitution.
Apart from presiding over National Assembly debates, the Speaker may also assume the duties
of Acting President, if the position is vacant (in case the President as well as Chairman
Senate are not available).
The current Speaker and Deputy Speaker are Asad Qaiser (PTI) and Qasim Suri (PTI), respectively.
== Sessions == The life of National Assembly is divided into
sessions.
It had to meet for 130 days before the First Amendment passed on 8 May 1974 in the constitution
of 1973.
According to this Amendment, maximum duration between successive sessions was reduced to
90 days from 130 days, and there must be at least three sessions in a year.
A session of the National Assembly is summoned by the President of Pakistan under Article
54(1) of the Constitution.
In the summoning order the President gives the date, time and place (which is usually
the Parliament House), for the National Assembly to meet.
The date and time for the summoning of the National Assembly is immediately announced
over Radio and Television.
Generally, a copy of the summon is also sent to the Members at their home address.
The National Assembly can also be summoned by the Speaker of National Assembly on a request
made by at one-fourth of the total membership of the National Assembly.
If the National Assembly is so requisitioned, it must be summoned within 14 days.
== Procedure ==
=== Constitutional role ===
Article 50 of the Constitution provides that the Parliament of Pakistan shall consist of
President and the two Houses known as the National Assembly and the Senate.
The National Assembly has an edge over the Senate by legislating exclusively on money
matters.
With exception to money Bills, however, both the Houses work together to carryout the basic
work of the Parliament, i.e. law making.
=== Legislative procedures === The Bill relating to the Federal Legislative
List can be originated in either House.
If the House passed the Bill through majority vote, it shall be transmitted to the other
House.
If the other House passes it without amendment, it shall be presented to the President for
assent.
If the Bill, transmitted to the other House, is not passed within ninety days or rejected,
it shall be considered in a joint sitting to be summoned by the President on the request
of the House in which the Bill was originated.
If the Bill is passed in the joint sitting, with or without amendments, by the votes of
majority of the members of the two Houses, it shall be presented to the President for
assent.
If the Bill is presented to the President for assent, he shall assent to the Bill in
not later than ten days.If it is not a Money Bill, the President may return the Bill to
the Majlis-e-Shoora with a message requesting that the Bill be reconsidered and that an
amendment specified in the message be considered.
The Majlis-e-Shoora shall reconsider the Bill in a joint sitting.If the Bill is passed again,
with or without amendment, by vote of the majority of the members present and voting,
it shall be presented to the President and the President shall give his assent within
ten days; failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given.
Under the Constitution, the Parliament may also legislate for two or more Provinces by
consent and request made by those Provinces.
If the Federal Government proclaims State of Emergency in any province, the power to
legislate about that province is vested in the Parliament.
But the Bills passed by the Parliament during the State of Emergency, shall cease to be
in force after the expiration of six months from the date Emergency is lifted.
Nevertheless, the steps already taken under these Acts shall remain valid.
== Leaders ==
=== Leader of the House ===
The Leader of the House is the highest ranking representative of the majority party in National
Assembly usually the Prime Minister.
See: List of All The Prime Ministers
=== Leader of the Opposition ===
The Leader of the Opposition is the highest ranking representative of the main opposition
party.
See: List of Leaders of the Opposition
== Committees ==
While recognizing the Committee System, the committees have been empowered to go into
all matters of the ministry.
A matter can be remitted to a standing committee by the Speaker or the Assembly suo moto and
without moving any motion.
The committees have also been empowered to invite or summon before it any member or any
other person having a special interest in relation to any matter under its consideration
and may hear expert evidence and hold public hearing.
== Composition and elections == The composition of the National Assembly is
specified in Article 51 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
There are a total of 342 seats in the National Assembly.
Of these, 272 are filled by direct elections.
In addition, the Pakistani Constitution reserves 10 seats for religious minorities and 60 seats
for women, to be filled by proportional representation among parties with more than 5% of the vote.
As of 2006, there are 72 women members in the Assembly.
Members of the National Assembly are elected by the people in competitive multi-party elections,
to be held at most five years apart on universal adult franchise.
To be a member of electoral college, according to Article 62 of the Constitution, candidates
must be citizens of Pakistan and not less than 25 years of age.
== 2018 election ==
=== Results of the Pakistani general election,
2018 ===
== Dissolution == National Assembly can be dissolved at the
initiative of the Prime Minister.
If dissolved, new elections are conducted for the Assembly.
Article 58 of the Constitution of Pakistan deals with the dissolution of the Assembly:
58.
Dissolution of the National Assembly:
(1) The President shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the Prime Minister;
and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration
of forty-eight hours after the Prime Minister has so advised.Explanation: Reference in this
Article to "Prime Minister" shall not be construed to include reference to a Prime Minister against
whom a notice of a resolution for a note of no-confidence has been given in the National
Assembly but has not been voted upon or against whom such a resolution has been passed or
who is continuing in office after his resignation or after the dissolution of the National Assembly.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in clause (2) or Article 48, the President may
dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, a vote of no-confidence having been
passed against the Prime Minister, no other member of the National Assembly commands the
confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly in accordance with
the provisions of the Constitution, as ascertained in a session of the National Assembly summoned
for the purpose.
== Seat distribution == There seat distribution in 14th assembly of
Pakistan is as follows:
== See also == Speaker of National Assembly
Senate of Pakistan Politics of Pakistan
Prime Minister of Pakistan Constitution of Pakistan
President of Pakistan Supreme Court of Pakistan
Pakistan Bar Council Punjab Bar Council
Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan List of Pakistan National Assembly Seats
List of provincial governments of Pakistan showing provincial assemblies
== Notes ==
== External links ==
Official Website of the National Assembly of Pakistan
Constitution of Pakistan