Two days after the promulgation of the RCO (Revival of Constitution 1973 Order) on March 2, 1985, President General Ziaul Haq held a meeting with Martial Law Administrators (MLAs) to review the post-election situation and select a prime minister. Till then the names of Abdul Ghafoor Hoti, Mohammad Aslam Khattak, Mir Zafarullah Jamali, Illahi Bakhsh Soomro, Makhdoom Hassan Mahmood and Hamid Raza Gillani were being speculated on. The general told the meeting that initially the system would run under the umbrella of martial law and when it was lifted in December it would become part of the political administration.

According to the amendments in the Constitution, the president was to nominate a prime minister from the elected members.

The MLAs were of the opinion that since the last deposed prime minister (Z.A. Bhutto) was a Sindhi the new prime minister should also be from Sindh to remove the sense of persecustion. After discussion, the names of Illahi Bakhsh Soomro and Mohammad Khan Junejo were short-listed. The MLAs were of the view that Illahi Bakhsh Soomro bore more political weight than Junejo hence they would prefer him as the next prime minister. Before taking a final decision Gen Zia consulted Pir Sahib Pagara, whom he considered as his political mentor. Pir sahib said that if there was to be a prime minister from Sindh, he would be his man and suggested the name of Mohammad Khan Junejo. Thus the name of Illahi Bakhsh Soomro was dropped. When it became clear that Junejo was the next man, the MLAs were not happy; they wanted the general to have consulted them before changing their collective decision.

With an elected prime minister in office, Gen Zia tries to retain an upper hand

Mr Junejo was called at the President House on March 20, 1985 for a meeting where some senior military officers were also present. According to Gen Khalid Mahmud Arif, the meeting began on a sour note as Mr Junejo neither expressed his happiness nor thanked Gen Zia when the general enthusiastically told him: “I have decided to nominate you as Prime Minister of Pakistan.” A calm Junejo softly but resolutely asked: “Mr President, when do you plan to lift the martial law?” This apparently shocked the general who, keeping his cool, said in a casual way, “Martial Law is now in your support. It will help you to settle down in your high appointment. I will lift it whenever you are in control of the situation.” Junejo was a calm person who never showed any high ambitious when he was the communications minister with Gen Ayub Khan in the late 1950s and 1960s. But this time he thought of becoming a real prime minister, and from the moment Junejo questioned Zia about lifting the martial law he began thinking about his own future.

After taking oath, Mohammad Khan Junejo began to take control of affairs. The general too, grew wary and began to consider ways to keep his PM in check.

To block such moves which could possibly loosen his grip, Gen Zia once again sought the support of legal trickery. This time Law Minister Iqbal Ahmad Khan, perhaps in consultation with Attorney-General Aziz A. Munshi, on Sept 10, 1985 presented a bill before the House that aimed at reducing the parliament to Gen Zia’s rubber stamp. He had miscalculated the sense of law of the MNAs who threw away the bill, not wanting to even discuss or hear about it.

The Speaker found himself in a quandary. Some members were of the opinion that the bill should be sent back to the law minister with a note to reword it and present it in an objective manner keeping all democratic norms and respect for the elected house. The bill was reworded and presented again, though it was still not acceptable to the MNAs. The point of disagreement was its essence — that the president would have powers to dismiss the prime minister, dissolve the National Assembly at any time he felt that the government had lost confidence and there was a need of going back to the electorate.

The Eighth Amendment or Article 58 2(B) was a constitutional amendment which aimed at strengthening the authority of the president to dismiss the elected prime minister and dissolve the National Assembly and provincial assemblies “… if in his / her opinion, a situation has arisen in which the government of the federation cannot be carried on [out] in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary.”

After taking oath, Mohammad Khan Junejo began to take control of affairs. The general too, grew wary and began to consider ways to keep his PM in check.

During Zia’s lifetime and after, the Amendment served the purpose of many individuals. The general himself was the first to use it for dismissing Junejo’s government on May 29, 1988 because Junejo wanted to act as an empowered prime minister. President Ghulam Ishaq used it to dismiss Benazir Bhutto’s government on Aug 6, 1990 and Nawaz Sharif’s government on April 18, 1993. The Supreme Court reinstated Nawaz Sharif but the political stalemate came to an end when both Ghulam Ishaq and prime minister Nawaz Sharif resigned.

Again in 1996 the Eighth Amendment was used to dismiss the government of Benazir Bhutto by president Farooq Ahmad Leghari who was from her own party.

Finally, in 1997 another constitutional amendment called the 13th Amendment gave the prime minister the power to repeal the Eighth Amendment. By the introduction of the 17th Amendment in 2003, the power to dissolve the National Assembly and check the misdeeds of the prime minister is now subject to the Supreme Court.

shaikhaziz38@gmail.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 23rd, 2015

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