Constitutionalism: Theory and Issues from Pakistan’s Perspective

Abstract

In a recent publication South Asian constitutionalism has been aptly described as ‘unstable constitutionalism’ wherein wide disagreements on a single institutional design often lead to ‘recurring tensions that lie at the intersection of law and politics’. These disagreements seem to be more conspicuous in Pakistan with a wide variety of opinions but little interest regarding constitutional matters. While Article 5(2) of the constitution clearly establishes compulsory obedience to the constitution and law as ‘inviolable obligation of every citizen’, instances of indifference towards the sanctity of the constitution abound. Hence constitutionalism in its own right has been reduced to a subject of occasional judicial reviews. A large part of the recent South Asian literature seems to be focused on comparative constitutional studies which seldom tend to imply theoretical issues pertinent to the developing world whereas our legislators often seem to be preoccupied with day-to-day matters rather than theoretical underpinnings of the constitutional issues. Hence solemn parliamentary debates that shaped democratic discourse in the West are almost absent in our legislatures. In this context this paper aims at a theoretical overview of the major tenets of classical constitutionalism with an attempt to finding their implementation in Pakistan’s constitutional issues. It also seeks to trace the extent and consequences of ‘instability’ in Pakistani constitutionalism