Revival of Parliamentary System: Performance of National Assembly of Pakistan under Zia ul Haq, 1985-1988

UNIVERSITY OF THE PUNJAB

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY & PAKISTAN STUDIES

By: AQSA ZAFAR

Supervised By: Professor Dr. Mahboob Hussain

Academic Level: MPhil

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Abstract

This research offers an analysis of the performance of seventh National Assembly of Pakistan. The Assembly was formed under the election order of 1977, through non-party elections and functioned from 1985 to 1988. The phase of the Assembly marked the testing time for some sort of Presidential type of Government as its introduced 8th amendment in the constitution of Pakistan under the pressure of General Muhammad Zia ul Haq, While studying the legislation during this time span the powers of President and the style of their implementation has been compared with the powers and working of the institution of parliament. How semblance of parliamentary work was used to cover the authoritative and administrative control over the legislative business that is the focus of study. The analysis of the debates of National Assembly is major tool of research and the archival sources along with debates and secondary material provides the main source material for study. The study complies that the significant part of legislation was made out of the ambit of parliament. The legislative business within Assembly too was controlled by the administration and president. There were many occasions on which it was felt by parliamentarians that they were powerless and august house was only a debating club. They didn’t have control on institutions as only one man was controlling the state by usurping powers of major portfolios of the government like foreign affairs, COAS, economy as well as full control on judiciary. Judiciary was superseded by the Military Courts and history had seen General Muhammad Zia Ul Haq a usurper, dictator, or statesman with his own ambitions. But, new parliament under the auspices of Elections of 1985 was a hope or a way towards democracy in Pakistan.

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On the direction of the Chairman Senate/President PIPS Board of Governors, the Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services (PIPS), has implemented a comprehensive set of measures aimed at ensuring fiscal discipline, operational efficiency, and responsible utilization of public resources, on the same lines as notified and adopted by the Senate and National Assembly Secretariats.

Under the new measures, the Institute has adopted a four-day working week (Monday to Thursday), while introducing a hybrid working model whereby 50% of staff will perform duties from the office and 50% will work remotely on a rotational basis. Employees working from home will remain fully accessible through digital communication platforms and may be required to report to the office on short notice, ensuring uninterrupted institutional functioning.

Significant steps have also been taken to promote energy conservation. These include a target of achieving up to 70% reduction in energy consumption through minimizing unnecessary use of electricity and ensuring that official meetings, trainings, and events are scheduled during daylight hours. Foreign tours are banned and international meetings are being held virtually.

In the transport section, PIPS has introduced strict measures to curtail expenditure and 70% official vehicles have been grounded as part of this initiative.

As part of broader austerity efforts, 20% reduction has been imposed on the non-ERE budget for the fourth quarter of the current financial year. The officers drawing a monthly salary of PKR 300,000 or more, shall surrendered two days salary or 5% to 30% salary on gross as per Federal Government decision.

The Institute has also discontinued all non-essential procurements with immediate effect. Official functions such as dinners and receptions will not be hosted, except in the case of visiting foreign delegations, and even then, strictly in accordance with austerity protocols.

These measures have been implemented with immediate effect and will remain in force until further orders.

Under the guidance of President PIPS Board of Governors, Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani, PIPS remains fully committed to maintaining its core functions of parliamentary support, capacity building, and research while contributing proactively to national austerity and sustainability goals.