ABSTRACT
Constitutional government in Pakistan has been more façade than substance. Constitutions are charters or primary documents reflecting historical experience and projecting futuristic objectives. Pakistan has passed through four constitutional experiences in less than thirty-five years. Each experience has reflected the power relationship of a particular period. Each has emerged with much fanfare and considerable promise. Pakistan’s first constitution was the Government of India Act, 1935, as modified by the Indian Independence Act which was made necessary by the nature of the transfer of power. The Pakistan Movement, like the Indian demand for independence, was essentially non-violent in so far as the ruling circles were concerned. Pakistan, like India, was initially declared a free, sovereign Dominion guided by a Constituent Assembly which was called upon to write an official constitution for the country. In the interim, the Constituent Assembly also substituted for the national legislature and passed laws and issued enactments necessary to the governance of the nation.
