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STEP BACK IN TIME
TRACING THE HISTORY OF THE PUNJAB PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY Two experts in parliamentary research in Pakistan outline the history of the Punjab Provincial Assembly.
Miss Abeeda Haroon and Mr Khalid Mahmood, in Punjab . Miss Haroon is a Research Officer with 10 years experience in parliamentary research, while Mr Mahmood is an officer of the Secretariat, having served 27 years in the largest provincial Legislature of Pakistan.
Pakistan emerged as an independent state after the end of British rule in India in 1947 and comprises four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier and Balochistan, besides the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Islamabad is the federal capital of Pakistan. Pakistan is a federal republic with the parliamentary form of government. At the federal level, there is a bicameral Legislature and at the provincial level, each of the four provinces has a directly elected unicameral Provincial Assembly. The province of Punjab is the largest of the four provinces and was once a part of Indian Punjab before independence in 1947. For this reason, the history of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is divided in two periods, i.e. the pre-independence and the post independence period. Like other parliamentary institutions in the country, it has evolved through a
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long process of constitutional development. From the beginning The genesis of the Legislature in the sub-continent can be traced back to the 19th century. From 1833 to 1861, the Governor General in council was the sole administrative as well as the legislative authority in British India, who ran the administration and was assisted by the executive and legislative councils. Beneath the Governor General were the Governors of Provinces of India. The War of Independence waged in 1857 against the British rulers of India made them realize the necessity of establishing closer contacts with the local public and its opinion. This resulted in the enactment of the Indian Councils Act, 1861. This Act provided for the establishment of a council of the Lieutenant Governor at the state level to transact legislative business as the legislative council.
The 1861 Act thus laid the foundation for the future Legislature as an independent entity separate from the executive council. The first council in the Punjab, however, was yet to be constituted when the Indian Councils Act, 1892 was enacted. This act enlarged the functions of the council in two respects, firstly, the council could discuss the annual financial statements and second, it could ask questions subject to certain limitation. Members were to hold office for two years. The first Legislative Council in the province of the Punjab under the Indian Councils Act, 1861 – as modified by the Indian Councils Act, 1892 – was constituted in 1897. This council comprised both official and non-official Members. The meetings of the council were presided over by the Lieutenant Governor himself. The element of elections in the Legislative Council was introduced