Salient Features of Constitution of 1962:

        In February 1960 Ayub Khan constituted a ten members Constitution Commission for the formulation of constitution. Former Chief Justice, Shahab-ud-Din, chaired this Commission. It submitted its recommendations to the then President of Pakistan on May 6, 1961. Afterwards, the President constituted a Constitution Committee headed by then Foreign Minister, Manzoor Qadir. This Committee consisted of seven cabinet members. The Committee ignored the recommendations made by the Commission and complied constitutional recommendations of its own choice which were approved in the Conference of Governors. Thus, the Constitution was completed through a Presidential Order; the then-president Muhammad Ayub Khan promulgated this constitution in the country on June 8, 1962.

         The Salient features of this Constitution are given below:

1. Written Constitution:

The Constitution of 1962 was a written document. It consisted of 250 articles, five schedules, eight amendments and 31 Martial Law Regulations. It was divided into 12 Parts.

2. Federal Constitution:

According to the Constitution of 1962, Pakistan was a federation with two provinces. Both the provinces i.e., East Pakistan and West Pakistan were given equal representation in the National Assembly. Both the provinces had an equal number of representatives in the Electoral College 40, 000 each. The powers of the Central Government were explained in the Constitution. The remaining powers were transferred to the provinces.

3. Presidential Constitution:

Under this Constitution, the Presidential form of Government came into being. President was the head of the state as well as the head of the Government. He was to be elected by an electoral college consisting of 80, 000 members of Basic Democracies for a tenure of five years. All the executive powers rested with the President. All the appointments against key-posts were made by the President.

4. Rigid Constitution:

Under this constitution, a two-third majority of the parliaments could amend the Constitution but the authentication by the President was compulsory to make this amendment valid.

5. Unicameral Legislature:

Like the constitution of 1956, the unicameral legislature was introduced in the Constitution of 1962. It was named as the National Assembly to be elected by an electoral college through indirect elections for five years. Both the provinces had equal representation in it.

6. Single Citizenship:

Like the constitution of 1956, the Constitution of 1962 enforced the principle of single citizenship in Pakistan. All the citizens of Pakistan were neither the citizens of East Pakistan nor West Pakistan. Rather they were the citizens of Pakistan.

7. Fundamental Rights:

Fundamental Rights were mentioned in the constitution and these rights were guaranteed. No law could be made in violation of the rights laid down in the constitution. No department of the Government could take any step against these rights. Some most important of these were: freedom of speech and expression; freedom of association and protection of life and property.

8. Islamic Provisions:

The Objective Resolution was included as a preamble to the constitution. It was explained in this Resolution that the Sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Allah Almighty and the authority. He has delegated to the state of Pakistan, through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by him is a sacred trust. First, the name of the country was adopted as “Republic of Pakistan”. TV word ‘Islamic’ was dropped in the Constitution. No, the law shall be enacted which is repugnant to the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Quran and Sunnah.

9. Islamic Advisory Council:

An “Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology” shall be appointed to advise the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Provincial Governors, National and Provincial Assemblies in the legal affairs so that legislation could be possible by the principles and concepts of Islam and to examine all laws in force to bring them into conformity with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in Quran and Sunnah. Practically “Advisory Council of Islamic Ideology” was a powerless institution. The Council was only an advisory body, and its advice was not binding on the President or Parliament.

10. National Languages:

Both Urdu and Bengali were recognized as the national languages of Pakistan and English was declared as the official language of the country until the national languages achieve the official status.

11. Indirect Democracy:

The system of Direct Elections was replaced by the method of Indirect Elections. This system was named Basic Democracies. Direct Method of Election was dissolved. The President was elected by an Electoral College comprising 80,000 Basic Democrats, equally distributed between the two provinces. The President, National Assembly and Provincial Assemblies were elected by an Electoral College comprising 80,000 Basic Democrats, equally distributed between the two provinces. They were elected by the people.