Problems of Federalism and Provincial Autonomy in Pakistan during the Military Rule of General Ziaul Haq (1977-1988)

Abstract

The modern governments require wider legislative powers particularly with respect to the economic and fiscal fields in order to fulfil the objectives of socio-political welfare of its citizenry, therefore, centralization of state authority is normally adopted as a constituent ingredient of federal systems by the ruling elite. A centralized political authority is attained through knitting such organizational structures where the decision making capability and authority rest with only the top tier of management whereas decentralized organizational arrangements function while establishing such hierarchies which work through delegating decision-making capabilities to multiple teams across different territorial boundaries. Various Martial Law regimes in Pakistan preferred to excessively apply a highly centralized model of exercising state authority and the Zia regime of 1980s was not an exception in that regard. Based on these arguments, the current work examines the constitutional maneuverings and the consequent problems of federalism faced by the state of Pakistan during the Zia rule and analyses different measures taken by that regime which, in one way or the other, were related to that problem. It finds that the Provisional Constitutional Order of 1981, the Constitutional Amendment Formula of 1983 and the Revival of Constitution Order (RCO) of March 1985 undermined the federal nature of the 1973 constitution quite seriously and a complete absence of provincial autonomy had exacerbated the issues of national integration. The study recommends that the integrity and unity of Pakistan can be saved by applying federal solution to its various political and constitutional problems and ensuring the maximum provincial autonomy.