Constitutional Amendments in Pakistan (2008-2013): Implications for the Institution of Parliament

Abstract

The constitutional engineering of General Musharraf through the Legal Frame Work Orders (LFO) and later the 17th Amendment distorted the parliamentary spirit of the political system and weakened the political institutions. After the elections of 2008 resulted in a democratic transition, the democratic forces were again back to the corridor of powers. From 2008 to 2013, a series of three constitutional amendments enacted by the parliament aimed at fortifying the democratic process and institutions. The passage of the constitutional amendments from the 18th to the 20th Amendments through the parliament marked a legislative consensus that led to transformative changes in the governance structure. This paper aimed to explore the impacts of those amendments on the institution of parliament. The main question of this study is to find how the 18th, 19th and 20th Amendments affected the institution of parliament. By nature, this research is qualitative and descriptive. The analysis highlighted that the amendments of the era strengthened the parliament, restored its supremacy and widened its role in the political system. This paper critically examines the implications of the constitutional amendments of the era on the institution of the parliament.