Power of Advertising

Everywhere we go, everywhere we look, we are inundated with messages.

We don't even have to think for ourselves. All we have to do is sit on our comfy couch and be told how to live our lives.

From how to look, what to wear, what to eat, what our homes should look like, how to meet people, what to drive, practically every facet of our lives is taken care of.

That is the power of advertising.

A good advertisement tells us we need something even before we think we do. It offers us a look into the ideal life, the ideal body, the ideal mate, all wrapped in an ideal world.

If I sound cynical I apologize. Really I'm not. I am amazed at the influence advertising has on our lives and the power these "ad men" (and women) have over us.

On "icon" this month we look at this powerful world, both from the brand's perspective and from the perspective of the people behind the iconic commercials.

We travel to Atlanta, Georgia, the home of Coca Cola. While we were editing this piece for the show, I saw the iconic hilltop Coke ad with the song, "I'd like to teach the world to sing." Remember that? Well, for the rest of the afternoon I couldn't get that song out of my head. That's the power of advertising.

The creative giants Saatchi & Saatchi knew that and built a successful agency on that philosophy. In fact, their motto was and still is "Nothing is Impossible."

It is a mainstay on the marketing mainstream all because of advertising; because of the idea that anything can be successful if it's packaged and sold right.What began as a little syrupy drink invented by a pharmacist in 1886 has become a pop culture phenomenon. From the cosmopolitan cities of the world to the tiniest of villages, this drink has crossed cultural boundaries.

For 40 years they have made household names of everything from detergents to airlines to politicians. If you were in Britain in the 1970s you probably remember the Conservative party ad campaign featuring the slogan "Labour Isn't Working." Saatchi & Saatchi were hired by the Conservative then-leader Margaret Thatcher to sell the Tory brand to the British public. And they did. Successfully.

The Saatchi brothers, Maurice and Charles, had such influence in the branding of politics that when they attended the company's 40th anniversary celebrations in September at the Saatchi Gallery in London, you would have thought you were at a Conservative party conference. Past and present politicians came to show their admiration and gratitude ... even the Iron Lady herself showed up.

So, who better to offer advice when I was tasked with creating my own ad campaign? David Droga -- the man who ran Saatchi & Saatchi for many years, then left to start his own company with clients that range from Coca Cola, Puma, and UNICEF -- has challenged me to create a campaign of my own.

The "icon" team chose to promote the idea of volunteering, specifically Corporate Social Responsibility employees volunteering their time to charitable organizations.

I headed to the Saatchi and Saatchi offices in London to seek expert guidance. And I got it. Richard Huntington, Director of Strategy of Saatchi & Saatchi, sat me down and helped me work through the thought process involved in creating an effective campaign.

It comes down to the bare basics of identifying the issue or the problem (in my case, why do people not volunteer?) and then finding a solution to fix it.

He said, "Be clear, be straightforward, be believable ... You need to know exactly what it is you want people to do ... Think what you want to think and then start to edit on the basis of does it sound motivating, does it sound credible."

My brain started to think in a whole new way. It actually felt freer and more open.

In this age of multiple mediums, advertising is everywhere -- whether it's a pop-up campaign with people dancing at the train station (T-Mobile) that serves a multitude of platforms from television to the web, or a home-video-type commercial that is posted on YouTube.

We may not have to think for ourselves as much but we do have to be more discriminating to decipher what is credible and what isn't.

Bottom line though, advertising is a part of our existence. The good news is we're the ones with the power to choose.

Political Economy Theory

Political economy is a term used for studying production and trade, and their relations with law, custom, and government, as well as with the distribution of national income and wealth. Political economy originated in moral philosophy. It was developed in the 18th century as the study of the economies of states, or polities, hence the term political economy.

In the late 19th century, the term economics came to replace political economy, coinciding with the publication of an influential textbook by Alfred Marshall in 1890.^[1] Earlier, William Stanley Jevons, a proponent of mathematical methods applied to the subject, advocated economics for brevity and with the hope of the term becoming "the recognised name of a science."^[2][3]

Today, political economy, where it is not used as a synonym for economics, may refer to very different things, including Marxiananalysis, applied public-choice approaches emanating from the Chicago school and the Virginia school, or simply the advice given by economists to the government or public on general economic policy or on specific proposals.^[3] A rapidly growing mainstream literature from the 1970s has expanded beyond the model of economic policy in which planners maximize utility of a representative individual toward examining how political forces affect the choice of economic policies, especially as to distributional conflicts and political institutions.^[4] It is available as an area of study in certain colleges and universities.

Etymology

Originally, political economy meant the study of the conditions under which production or consumption within limited parameters was organized in nation-states. In that way, political economy expanded the emphasis of economics, which comes from the Greek oikos(meaning "home") and nomos (meaning "law" or "order"). Thus, political economy was meant to express the laws of production of wealth at the state level, just as economics was the ordering of the home. The phrase économie politique (translated in English as political economy) first appeared in France in 1615 with the well-known book by Antoine de Montchrétien, Traité de l’economie politique. The French physiocrats, along with Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill, David Ricardo, Henry George, and Karl Marx were some of the exponents of political economy.^[5] The world's first professorship in political economy was established in 1754 at the University of Naples Federico II in southern Italy. The Neapolitan philosopher Antonio Genovesi was the first tenured professor. In 1763, Joseph von Sonnenfelswas appointed a Political Economy chair at the University of Vienna, Austria. Thomas Malthus, in 1805, became England's first professor of political economy, at the East India Company College, Haileybury, Hertfordshire.

In the academic year 1997–98, Glasgow University, where Adam Smith had been Professor of Logic and of Moral Philosophy, changed the name of its Department of Political Economy to the Department of Economics (ostensibly to avoid confusing prospective undergraduates). This left the class of 1998 as the last to be graduated with a Master of Arts in Political Economy.

Current approaches

Robert Keohane, international relations theorist

In its contemporary meaning, political economy refers to different, but related, approaches to studying economic and related behaviours, ranging from the combination of economics with other fields to the use of different, fundamental assumptions that challenge earlier economic assumptions:

• Political economy most commonly refers to interdisciplinary studies drawing upon economics, sociology, and political science in explaining how political institutions, the political environment, and the economic system — capitalist, socialist, communist, or mixed — influence each other.^[6] The Journal of Economic Literature classification codes associate political economy with three sub-areas: the role of government and/or power relationships in resource allocation for each type of economic system,^[7] international political economy, which studies the economic impacts of international relations,^[8] and economic models of political processes.^[9] The last area, derived from public choice theory and dating from the 1960s, models voters, politicians, and bureaucrats as behaving in mainly self-interested ways, in contrast to a view, ascribed to earlier economists, of government officials trying to maximize individual utilities from some kind of social welfare function.^[10] An early and continuing focus of that research program is what came to be called constitutional political economy.^[11]

Economists and political scientists often associate political economy with approaches using rational-choice assumptions,^[12] especially in game theory,^[13] and in examining phenomena beyond economics' standard remit, such as government failure and complex decision making in which context the term "positive political economy" is common.^[14] Other "traditional" topics include analysis of such public policy issues as economic regulation,^[15] monopoly, rent-seeking, market protection,^[16] institutional corruption,^[17] and distributional politics.^[18] Empirical analysis includes the influence of elections on the choice of economic policy, determinants and forecasting models of electoral outcomes, the political business cycles,^[19] central-bank independence, and the politics of excessive deficits.^[20]

A recent focus has been on modeling economic policy and political institutions as to interactions between agents and economic and political institutions,^[21] including the seeming discrepancy of economic policy and economist's recommendations through the lens of transaction costs.^[22]From the mid-1990s, the field has expanded, in part aided by new cross-national data sets that allow tests of hypotheses on comparative economic systems and institutions.^[23] Topics have included the breakup of nations,^[24] the origins and rate of change of political institutions in relation to economic growth,^[25] development,^[26] financial markets and regulation,^[27] backwardness,^[28] reform,^[29] and transition economies,^[30]the role of culture, ethnicity, and gender in explaining economic outcomes,^[4] macroeconomic policy,^[31] the environment,^[32] fairness,^[33] and the relation of constitutions to economic policy, theoretical^[34] and empirical.^[35]

• New political economy may treat economic ideologies as the phenomenon to explain, per the traditions of Marxian political economy. Thus, Charles S. Maier suggests that a political economy approach "interrogates economic doctrines to disclose their sociological and political premises.... in sum, [it] regards economic ideas and behavior not as frameworks for analysis, but as beliefs and actions that must themselves be explained."^[36] This approach informs Andrew Gamble's The Free Economy and the Strong State(Palgrave Macmillan, 1988), and Colin Hay's The Political Economy of New Labour (Manchester University Press, 1999). It also informs much work published in New Political Economy, an international journal founded by Sheffield University scholars in 1996.^[37]
• International political economy (IPE) is an interdisciplinary field comprising approaches to the actions of various actors. In the United States, these approaches are associated with the journal International Organization, which in the 1970s became the leading journal of IPE under the editorship of Robert Keohane, Peter J. Katzenstein, and Stephen Krasner. They are also associated with the journal The Review of International Political Economy. There also is a more critical school of IPE, inspired by thinkers such as Antonio Gramsci and Karl Polanyi; two major figures are Matthew Watson and Robert W. Cox.^[38]
• Anthropologists, sociologists, and geographers use political economy in referring to the regimes of politics or economic values that emerge primarily at the level of states or regional governance, but also within smaller social groups and social networks. Because these regimes influence and are influenced by the organization of both social and economic capital, the analysis of dimensions lacking a standard economic value (e.g., the political economy of language, of gender, or of religion) often draws on concepts used in Marxian critiques of capital. Such approaches expand on neo-Marxian scholarship related to development and underdevelopment postulated by André Gunder Frank and Immanuel Wallerstein.
• Historians have employed political economy to explore the ways in the past that persons and groups with common economic interests have used politics to effect changes beneficial to their interests.^[39]
• Political Economy and Law is a recent attempt within legal scholarship to engage explicitly with political economy literature. In the 1920s and 30s, legal realists (e.g., Robert Hale) and intellectuals (e.g., John Commons) engaged themes related to political economy. In the second half of the 20th century, lawyers associated with the Chicago School incorporated certain intellectual traditions from economics. Since the crisis in 2007, however, legal scholars especially related to international law, have turned to more explicitly engage with the debates, methodology and various themes within political economy texts.^[40][41]

Related disciplines

Because political economy is not a unified discipline, there are studies using the term that overlap in subject matter, but have radically different perspectives:^[42]

• Politics studies power relations and their relationship to achieving desired ends
• Philosophy rigorously assesses and studies a set of beliefs and their applicability to reality
• Economics studies the distribution of resources so that the material wants of a society are satisfied; enhance societal well-being
• Sociology studies the effects of persons' involvement in society as members of groups, and how that changes their ability to function. Many sociologists start from a perspective of production-determining relation from Karl Marx. Marx's theories on the subject of political economy are contained in his book Das Kapital.
• Anthropology studies political economy by investigating regimes of political and economic value that condition tacit aspects of sociocultural practices (e.g., the pejorative use of pseudo-Spanish expressions in the US entertainment media) by means of broader historical, political, and sociological processes. Analyses of structural features of transnational processes focus on the interactions between the world capitalist system and local cultures.
• Archaeology attempts to reconstruct past political economies by examining the material evidence for administrative strategies to control and mobilize resources.^[43] This evidence may include architecture, animal remains, evidence for craft workshops, evidence for feasting and ritual, evidence for the import or export of prestige goods, or evidence for food storage.
• Psychology is the fulcrum on which political economy exerts its force in studying decision making (not only in prices), but as the field of study whose assumptions model political economy.
• History documents change, often using it to argue political economy; some historical works take political economy as the narrative's frame.
• Human geography at times draws on theories of politico-economic processes. Typically under the moniker of political ecology, political ecology has been used by geographers to understand human systems and their relationship with the environment, broadly defined.^[44]
• Ecology deals with political economy, because human activity has the greatest effect upon the environment, its central concern being the environment's suitability for human activity. The ecological effects of economic activity spur research upon changing market economy incentives.
• Cultural studies examines social class, production, labor, race, gender, and sex.
• Communications examines the institutional aspects of media and telecommuncation systems. As the area of study focusing on aspects of human communication, it pays particular attention to the relationships between owners, labor, consumers, advertisers, structures of production, and the state, and the power relationships embedded in these relationships.

Culture Industry

The term culture industry (German: Kulturindustrie) was coined by the critical theorists Theodor Adorno (1903–1969) and Max Horkheimer (1895–1973), and was presented as critical vocabulary in the chapter "The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception", of the book Dialectic of Enlightenment (1944), wherein they proposed that popular cultureis akin to a factory producing standardized cultural goods—films, radio programmes, magazines, etc.—that are used to manipulate mass society into passivity.^[1] Consumption of the easy pleasures of popular culture, made available by the mass communications media, renders people docile and content, no matter how difficult their economic circumstances.^[1]The inherent danger of the culture industry is the cultivation of false psychological needs that can only be met and satisfied by the products of capitalism; thus Adorno and Horkheimer especially perceived mass-produced culture as dangerous to the more technically and intellectually difficult high arts. In contrast, true psychological needs are freedom, creativity, and genuine happiness, which refer to an earlier demarcation of human needs, established by Herbert Marcuse. (See Eros and Civilization, 1955).

The Frankfurt School

Part of a series on the
Frankfurt School
Major works
Reason and Revolution The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Eclipse of Reason Escape from Freedom Minima Moralia Eros and Civilization One-Dimensional Man Negative Dialectics The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere The Theory of Communicative Action Dialectic of Enlightenment
Notable theorists
Herbert Marcuse · Theodor Adorno Max Horkheimer · Walter Benjamin Erich Fromm · Friedrich Pollock Leo Löwenthal · Jürgen Habermas Alfred Schmidt · Axel HonnethSiegfried Kracauer · Otto Kirchheimer
Important concepts
Critical theory · Dialectic · Praxis Psychoanalysis · Antipositivism Popular culture · Culture industry Advanced capitalism Privatism · Non-identity Communicative rationality Legitimation crisis
v t e

Members of The Frankfurt School were much influenced by the dialectical materialism and historical materialism of Karl Marx, as well as the revisitation of the dialectical idealism of Hegel; both events are studied not in isolation, but as part of the process of change. As a group later joined by Jürgen Habermas, they were responsible for the formulation of critical theory. In works such as Dialectic of Enlightenment and Negative Dialectics, Adorno and Horkheimer theorized that the phenomenon of mass culture has a political implication, namely that all the many forms of popular culture are parts of a single culture industry whose purpose is to ensure the continued obedience of the masses to market interests.

The theory

The essay is concerned with the production of cultural content in capitalist societies. It critiques the supply-driven nature of cultural economies as well as the apparently inferior products of the system.^[3] Horkheimer and Adorno argue that mass-produced entertainment aims, by its very nature, to appeal to vast audiences and therefore both the intellectual stimulation of high art and the basic release of low art.^[4] The essay does not suggest that all products of this system are inherently inferior, simply that they have replaced other forms of entertainment without properly fulfilling the important roles played by the now defunct sources of culture.^[5]

Horkheimer and Adorno make consistent comparisons between Fascist Germany and the American film industry. They highlight the presence of mass-produced culture, created and disseminated by exclusive institutions and consumed by a passive, homogenised audience in both systems.^[6] This illustrates the logic of domination in post-enlightenment modern society, by monopoly capitalism or the nation state.^[7] Horkheimer and Adorno draw attention to the problems associated with a system that 'integrates its consumers from above', arguing that in attempting to realise enlightenment values of reason and order, the holistic power of the individual is undermined.^[8]

Influences

Adorno and Horkheimer's work was influenced by both the broader socio-political environment in which it was written and by other major theorists. Written in California in the early 1940s in an era which characterized them as two ethnically Jewish, German émigrés, The Culture Industry is influenced by European politics and the war by which the continent was consumed.^[9] Simultaneously, the American film industry was characterised by an unprecedented level of studio monopolisation,^[3] it was "Hollywood at its most classical, American mass culture at its most Fordist".^[10]

Horkheimer and Adorno were influenced heavily by major developers of social, political and economic theory,^[11] most notably:

• Karl Marx's theories of alienation and commodity fetishism,
• Max Weber's instrumental reason, and
• Georg Lukacs' concept of the reification of consciousness.

Media Hegemony

Media Hegemony

The concept of hegemony, which first was put forward by Antonio Gramsci (1971), refers to the moral, philosophical, and political leadership of a social group, which is not gained by force but by an active consent of other social groups through taking control of culture and ideology. During this process, the leading social group exerts its impact and gain its legitimacy mainly through social mechanisms such as education, religion, family and the mass media. Based on the definition of hegemony, media hegemony means the dominance of a certain aspects of life and thoughts by penetrating dominant culture and values in social life. In other words, media hegemony served as a crucial shaper of culture, values and ideology of society (Altheide, 1984).^[1]

For example, TV news departments are considered as extensions of a capitalistic economic order (Hall, 1979). The products of the media contain messages that convey the nature of society, the nature of relation of production within the media and the domain of institutions and social process (Golding, 1979). Thus it is crucial to decode media to figure out the latent capitalist ideology within the products of the media, and more importantly to realize the role of the media as tools to produce merchandise in a late capitalist economic order.

Results of Media Hegemony

As for the direct and indirect results of media hegemony, there are at least three aspects in news reporting. Firstly, the socialization of reporters including guidance, work norms and orientations will be greatly influenced by the dominant ideology (Mueller, 1973). Socialization of journalists means that they are socialized into professional and organizational norms (Gieber, 1960). And some basic values, norms they share are influenced by ideology as it is hard to be independent from the culture that the dominant class shapes (Gans, 1979). Though journalists claim that they are autonomic from the state and marketing force and are always on the side of the public as social instrument, it is undeniable that the ideology and control of economic interests permeate the assumption, orientations as well as procedure of reporters who are the direct producers of news stories. It turns out that it is journalists that can unconsciously facilitate the ideological hegemony by the means of using using cultural categories and symbols (Chaney, 1981). Then, reporters are inclined to choose and report those issues that are favorable to the domain ideology and the status quo. By so doing, it is harmful for social changes by diffusing those conservative news reports to the public (Golding, 1981). To a certain extent, the formation of public opinion is largely based on the information spread by status quo oriented news media. Last but not least, reporters tend to report those news that are supportive of their nation and negative to foreign nations in the communication of globalization. It is believed that prejudiced news reporting will hinder the international social change (Artz, 2012). It is news media that shapes negative stereotypes of foreign countries. And values and ideology are permeated through international social communication to exert impact on people foreign nations. In a word, media hegemony is a powerful forth that can influence and shape social values and life in an intangible way to reach consensus of the public which are supportive of the dominant class.

HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT OF PAKISTAN

The Parliament of Pakistan, (Urdu: مجلس شوریٰ پاکستان‎ — Majlis ê Shura Pākistān); is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameral federal legislature that consists of the Senate as upper house and the National Assembly, as lower houses. According to the constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President of Pakistan is also a component of the Parliament. The National Assembly is elected for a five-year term on the basis of adult franchise and one-man one-vote. The tenure of a Member of the National Assembly is for the duration of the house, or sooner, in case the Member dies or resigns. The tenure of the National Assembly also comes to an end if dissolved on the advice of the Prime Minister or by the president in his discretion under the Constitution.

The Parliament meets at the Parliament House building in Islamabad, where debating chambers for both houses are present. Until 1960, the Parliament House was located in Karachi. Parliament House of Pakistan is the first and only parliament in the world that runs completely on self-generated solar power.^[1]

National Assembly

The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house of the parliament. The National Assembly has 342 seats, 272 of which are directly elected, 60 are reserved for women and a further 10 for religious minorities. The National Assembly of Pakistan is the country's sovereign legislative body. It embodies the will of the people to let themselves be governed under the democratic, multi-party Federal Parliamentary System. The National Assembly makes laws for the Federation in respect of the powers enumerated in the Federal Legislative list. Through its debates, adjournment motion, question hour and Standing Committees, the National Assembly keeps as check over the Executive and ensures that the government functions within the parameters set out in the Constitution and does not violate the fundamental rights of citizens. Only the National Assembly, through its Public Accounts Committee, scrutinizes public spending and exercises control of expenditure incurred by the government. The Members of the National Assembly are to be elected by direct and free vote in accordance with law.

Article 50 of the Constitution provides that the Parliament of Pakistan shall consist of president and the two houses known as the National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly has an edge over the Senate by legislating exclusively on money matters. With exception to money bills, however, both the houses work together to carry out the basic work of the Parliament, i.e. law making. The bill relating to the Federal Legislative List can be originated in either house. If the house passed the bill through majority vote, it shall be transmitted to the other house. If the other house passes it without amendment, it shall be presented to the president for assent. If the bill, transmitted to the other house, is not passed within ninety days or rejected, it shall be considered in a joint sitting to be summoned by the president on the request of the house in which the bill was originated. If the bill is passed in the joint sitting, with or without amendments, by the votes of majority of the members of the two houses, it shall be presented to the president for assent.

If the bill is presented to the president for assent, he shall assent to the bill in not later than ten days. If it is not a money bill, the president may return the bill to the Majlis-e-Shoora with a message requesting that the bill be reconsidered and that an amendment specified in the message be considered. The Majlis-e-Shoora shall reconsider the bill in a joint sitting. If the bill is passed again, with or without amendment, by vote of the majority of the members present and voting, it shall be presented to the president and the president shall give his assent within ten days; failing which such assent shall be deemed to have been given. Under the Constitution, the Parliament may also legislate for two or more Provinces by consent and request made by those Provinces. If the Federal Government proclaims State of Emergency in any province, the power to legislate about that province is vested in the Parliament. But the bills passed by the Parliament during the State of Emergency, shall cease to be in force after the expiration of six months from the date Emergency is lifted. Nevertheless, the steps already taken under these Acts shall remain valid. In exercises of its constitutional role, the Parliament also has other very important duties to perform. The president, who is at the apex, is elected by members of both houses of the Parliament and the Provincial Assemblies. The Prime Minister, who heads the Cabinet and is meant to aid and advise the president in his functions, belongs to the National Assembly. He enjoys the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly. Members of the Cabinet are appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister.

In the formation of the Cabinet the major portion (75%), goes to National Assembly while the rest (25%) are taken from the Senate. There is a democratic procedure to remove the Prime Minister from his office if he loses confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly. In this respect a resolution for a vote of no-confidence is moved by not less than 20% of the total membership of the National Assembly. If the resolution is passed by majority of the total membership of the National Assembly, the Prime Minister immediately relinquished powers. Similarly, for the removal or impeachment of the president, not less than one-half of the total membership of either house may give in writing its intention to do so, to the Speaker National Assembly, or, as the case may be, to the Chairman Senate, for moving a resolution for the purpose. In a joint sitting of the two houses, convened for the purpose, and after the deliberations, if the resolution is passed by the votes of not less than two thirds of the total membership of the Parliament, the president shall cease to hold office immediately on the passing of the resolution. In case emergency is proclaimed, the Parliament holds the authority to extend the term of the National Assembly. Under the Constitution, the Parliament may also, on the request of the Federal Government, by law, confer functions upon officers or authorities subordinate to the Federal Government.

Parliament House from gulshana jinnah

Senate[edit]

Main article: Senate of Pakistan

The main purpose for the creation of the Senate of Pakistan was to give equal representation to all the federating units since the membership of the National Assembly was based on the population of each province. Equal provincial membership in the Senate, thus, balances the provincial inequality in the National Assembly and dispels doubts and apprehension, if any, regarding deprivation and exploitation. The role of the Senate is to promote national cohesion and harmony and to alleviate fears of the smaller provinces regarding domination by any one province because of its majority, in the National Assembly. The Senate, is a body which represents the provinces/territories of the country and promotes a feeling of equality, peace and harmony, which is so essential for the growth and prosperity of a nation. Thus, the Senate in Pakistan, over the years, has emerged as an essential organ and a stabilizing factor of the federation. The Senate consists of 100 members, of whom 14 members are elected by each Provincial Assembly, 8 members are elected from Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs) by the Members of National Assembly from these areas, 2 members, 1 woman and 1Technocrat is elected from the Federal Capital by the Members of National Assembly, 4 women and 4 Technocrats are elected by the members of each Provincial Assembly. The breakup of seats allocated to each Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATAs), Federal Capital, Women and Ulema/Technocrats. It is the responsibility of the Chief Election Commissioner to hold and make arrangements for the Senate elections in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of a single transferable vote through electoral colleges. The term of the members of the Senate is 6 years. However, the term of the first group of the Senators, who shall retire after completion of first 3 years of the Senate, is determined by drawing of lots by the Chief Election Commissioner.

History

Muhammad Ali Jinnah replying to the Address by Lord Mountbatten in Constituent Assembly on 14 August 1947.

Founding

The Muslim League of India had, since the middle of twentieth century, demanded for a separate homeland on the basis of the Two-nation theory. The British rulers realized that the Hindus and Muslims of India remained two separate and distinct nations and socio-cultural entities. The British rulers were left with no option but to eventually accept the demand of the Muslims of India. On 3 June 1947, Lord Mountbatten, the last Viceroy of India, called the conference of all the leaders of the Sub-continent and communicated to them his Government's Plan for the transfer of power. At that time, a notification was issued in the Gazette of India, published on 26 July 1947 in which the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was given shape with 69 Members (later on the membership was increased to 79), including one female Member. The State of Pakistan was created under the Independence Act of 1947. The Act made the existing Constituent Assemblies, the dominion legislatures. These Assemblies were allowed to exercise all the powers which were formerly exercised by the Central Legislature, in addition to the powers regarding the framing of a new Constitution, prior to which all territories were to be governed in accordance with the Government of India Act, 1935. The first session of the first Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was held on 10 August 1947 at Sindh Assembly Building in Karachi. On 11 August 1947 Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected unanimously as the president of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan and the National Flag was formally approved by the Assembly. On 12 August 1947, a resolution was approved regarding officially addressing Jinnah as Quaid-i-Azam. On the same day, a special committee called the "Committee on Fundamental Rights of Citizens and Minorities of Pakistan" was appointed to look into and advise the Assembly on matters relating to fundamental rights of the citizens, particularly the minorities, with the aim to legislate on these issues appropriately. On 14 August 1947, the Transfer of Power took place. Lord Mountbatten, Governor General of India, addressed the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. The Quaid gave a reply to the address in the house, on which the principles of the State of Pakistan were laid. On 15 August 1947, the Quaid-i-Azam was sworn in as the first Governor General of Pakistan. Mian Sir Abdur Rashid, Chief Justice of Pakistan, administered the oath of office from him. The Quaid remained in this position till his death on 11 September 1948.

1949 Objective Resolution

The foremost task before the first Constituent Assembly was the framing the Constitution for the nation. On 7 March 1949, the Objectives Resolution, which now serves as the basic law of Pakistan, was introduced by the first Prime Minister Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan, and later adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 12 March 1949. On the same day, a 24-member Basic Principles Committee was formed to prepare a draft Constitution on the basis of the Objectives Resolution. On 16 October 1951, Khan, the mover of the Objective Resolution, was assassinated and Khawaja Nazimuddin took over as the Prime Minister on 17 October 1951. The final draft of the Constitution was prepared in 1954. By that time, Muhammad Ali Bogra had taken over as the Prime Minister. However, just before the draft could be placed in the house for approval, the Assembly was dissolved by the then Governor General Ghulam Muhammad on 24 October 1954. The Prime Minister was, however, not dismissed and was asked to run the administration, with a reconstituted Cabinet, until such time as the elections were held. Maulvi Tamizuddin, President of the Assembly, challenged the dissolution in the Sindh Chief Court, and won the case. The Government in return, went to the Federal Court, where the famous judgment was given by the then Chief Justice Muhammad Munir, according to which Maulvi Tamizuddin lost the case.

1955 Second Constituent Assembly

The second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan was created on 28 May 1955 under Governor General's Order No.12 of 1955. The Electoral College for this Assembly was the Provincial Assemblies of respective Provinces. The strength of this Assembly was 80 Members, half each from East Pakistan and West Pakistan. One of the major decisions taken by this Assembly was the establishment of West Pakistan (One Unit), with the aim to create parity between the two wings (East and West Pakistan). This Assembly also achieved its target by giving the first Constitution to the nation i.e. the Constitution of Pakistan 1956. Chaudhry Muhammad Ali was the Prime Minister at that time. The draft of this Constitution was introduced in the Assembly on 9 January 1956 and was passed by the Assembly on 29 February 1956. The assent was given on it by the Governor General on 2 March 1956. This Constitution was enforced with effect from 23 March 1956. Under this Constitution, Pakistan became an Islamic Republic, hence 23 March became the country's Republic day. It was the same day in 1940 that the historic Pakistan Resolution was adopted at Minto Park, Lahore. On 5 March 1956, Major General Iskandar Mirza became the first President of Pakistan. The 1956 constitution provided for Parliamentary form of government with all the executive powers in the hands of Prime Minister. The President was the Head of State, and was to be elected by all Members of the National and Provincial Assemblies. He was to hold office for 5 years. The President was to act on the advice of Prime Minister, except where he was empowered to act in his discretion. Under 1956 Constitution, Parliament was unicameral. Legislative powers vested in the Parliament, which consisted of the president and the National Assembly with 300 Members divided equally between East and West Pakistan. In addition to these 300 seats, five seats were reserved for women for each of the two wings, for a period of ten years: thus bringing the total membership of the house to 310. However, in the absence of any law to control the Political Parties and the problem of floor crossing, political instability perpetually ensued. Although the first general election were scheduled for early 1959, President Iskandar Mirza abrogated the Constitution, dissolved the National and Provincial Assemblies, and declared Martial Law, on 7 October 1958. He appointed General Muhammad Ayub Khan, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, as the Chief Martial Law Administrator.

1960 Constitution Commission

On 27 October 1958 General Muhammad Ayub Khan took over as second President of Pakistan. One of the first major steps taken by General Ayub Khan was the appointment of a Constitution Commission on 17 February 1960. The objective of this commission was to submit proposals, as to how best democracy can be strengthened and molded according to the country’s socio-political environment and Islamic principles of justice. The Commission submitted its report to the government on 29 April 1961. On the basis of this report a new Constitution was framed and given to the nation on 1 March 1962. General elections under the new Constitution were held on 28 March 1962 and elections to the special seats reserved for women were held on 29 May 1962. The first session of the third National Assembly was held on 8 June 1962 at Ayub Hall, Rawalpindi. The Constitution of 1962 envisaged a Federal State with Presidential form of government, with the National Assembly at the centre and the Provincial Assemblies in the Provinces. The Legislatures, both at center and in provinces were unicameral. The Federal system had been curtailed by allowing the Provincial Governors to be appointed directly by the president. All executive authority of the Republic of Pakistan, under the Constitution, vested in the office of the president. The President appointed his Cabinet members who were directly responsible to him. The electoral system was made indirect, and the `Basic Democrats', for both wings were declared Electoral College for the purpose of electing the assemblies and the president. Basic democrats were 80,000 in number (40,000 from each East and West Pakistan). The total membership of the National Assembly was 156, one half of whom were to be elected from East Pakistan and other half from West Pakistan, also three seats were reserved for women from each province. The term of this Assembly was three years. The norm was established that if the president was from West Pakistan, the Speaker was to be from East Pakistan and vice versa. One of the major achievements of this Assembly was the passage of Political Parities Act, 1962. On 25 March 1969 the second Martial law was imposed and General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan took over as the president of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator (CMLA). He later issued a Legal Framework Order (LFO), under which the first ever general elections were held on 7 December 1970. This was the first Assembly elected on the adult franchise and population basis. It consist of 313 members, 169 from East Pakistan and 144 from West Pakistan including 13 reserved seats for women (6 were from West Pakistan and 7 from East Pakistan). Soon after the elections, due to grave political differences, the Province of East Pakistan seceded from West Pakistan and became Bangladesh. On 20 December 1971 Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto took over as the President of Pakistan as well as the first civil Chief Martial Law Administrator.

1973 Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan

The first session of the National Assembly, due to the delay caused by the separation of East Pakistan, was held on 14 April 1972 at the State Bank Building, Islamabad, in which all 144 Members from West Pakistan and two from former East Pakistan (Mr. Noor-ul-Amin and Raja Tridev Roy who had chosen to join Pakistan) participated. On 17 April 1972 an Interim Constitution was adopted by the National Assembly, which provided for a Presidential form of Government. Under this Constitution, the National Assembly was not to be dissolved earlier than 14 August 1973. The Interim Constitution dealt in detail with the distribution of powers between the Centre and the Provinces. The Assembly also formed a Constitution Committee on 17 April 1972 to prepare the first draft for framing a Constitution. The report of the Committee was presented with a draft Constitution on 31 December 1972. It was unanimously passed by the Assembly in its session on 10 April 1973 and was authenticated by the president on 12 April 1973. This Constitution, called the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, was promulgated on 14 August 1973. On the same day, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto took oath as the Prime Minister, while Mr. Fazal Illahi Choudhary took oath as the president of Pakistan. The 1973 Constitution provides for a parliamentary form of government where the executive authority of the state vests with the Prime Minister. The President, according to the Constitution, is at the apex, representing the unity of the Republic. From 1947 to 1973, the country had had a unicameral system, but under the 1973 Constitution, Pakistan adopted a bicameral federal legislature, called Parliament, composed of the President, the Senate and the National Assembly. Originally, the general seats of the National Assembly were 200 with additional 10 seats reserved for women, bringing the total strength to 210. The newly created Upper house i.e. the Senate had 63 members. Later in 1985 through a Presidential Order (P.O. No. 14 of 1985), seven seats were added to the general seats and ten to the reserved seats for women in the National Assembly. Ten seats were exclusively reserved for minorities to be filled through separate electorate system. Thus the total strength of the lower house reached to 237 members. Similarly the size of the Senate was also increased from 63 to 87 members.

Under the 1973 Constitution the National Assembly is elected for five years term, unless sooner dissolved. The seats in National Assembly, unlike the Senate, are allocated to each province and other units of the federation, on the basis of population. The Constitutional provision of 20 special seats for women lapsed in 1990, thus decreased the Assembly strength from 237 to 217. Under the Constitution, elections to the 10 seats reserved for minority were held on separate electorate basis. Despite the tenure of the Assembly being five years, as prescribed in the Constitution, Mr. Z.A. Bhutto, on 7 January 1977 announced the holding of elections before time. Consequently, on 10 January 1977, he advised the president to dissolve the National Assembly. Elections were held on 7 March 1977. The opposition charged the government with rigging the elections to the National Assembly and thereafter boycotted the Provincial Assemblies elections. Since the opposition had not accepted the National Assembly elections result, they did not take oath. This resulted in severe political crisis and Martial Law was imposed by the then Army Chief, General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, on 5 July 1977.

1981 Majlis-e-Shoora

On 24 December 1981, under Presidential Order (P.O.15 of 1981) a Federal Council (Majlis-e-Shoora) was constituted by the president. Its members were nominated by the president. The first session of this Council was held on 11 January 1982. In this way, limited and controlled political activities were resumed. General elections were later held for the National and Provincial Assemblies on 25 February 1985, on non-party basis.

1985 Amendments

On 2 March 1985, the revival of Constitution Order (P.O.14 of 1985) was issued in which a large number of amendments were made in the Constitution. Article 1 substituted the name "Parliament" for the more Islamic term Majlis-e-Shoora.^[2] The first session of the National Assembly was held 20 March 1985. Mr. Muhammad Khan Junejo, was nominated as the Prime Minister of Pakistan by the president (General Zia-ul-Haq). He received vote of confidence on 24 March 1985. In November 1985, the 8th Constitutional Amendment was adopted by the Parliament. Besides changes in other Articles in the Constitution the significant Article 58(2)(b) was added, according to which the president acquired discretionary powers to dissolve the National Assembly. On 29 May 1988 the Assembly was dissolved by the president by using the power acquired under Article 58(2)(b).

1988 elections

The General elections for the eighth National Assembly was held on 16 November 1988. The first session was convened by the President on 30 November 1988. Mr. Miraj Khalidwas elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly on 3 December 1988. Benazir Bhutto was nominated as Prime Minister of Pakistan and took the oath of the Office on 2 December 1988. The Assembly was later dissolved by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan under Article 58(2)(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan, on 6 August 1990. The General elections for the ninth National Assembly was held on 24 October 1990. The first session was held on 3 November 1990. Mr. Gohar Ayub Khan was elected as the Speaker of the National Assembly and he took oath on 4 November 1990. Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan and took oath on 11 November 1993. The Assembly was again dissolved by the then President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, under Article 58(2)(b) on 18 April 1993. The dissolution of the National Assembly was challenged in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and after hearing the case the Assembly was restored by the Supreme Court on 26 May 1993. The Assembly was later dissolved on the advice of the Prime Minister on 18 July 1993.

1993 Tenth National Assembly

The elections for tenth National Assembly was held on 6 October 1993. The first session was held on 15 October 1993. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani took oath of the office of the Speaker National Assembly on 17 October 1993. Mohtarma Benizar Bhutto administered the oath as Prime Minister of Pakistan on 19 October 1993. The Assembly was dissolved by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Laghari on 5 November 1996. The elections for eleventh National Assembly was held on 3 February 1997. The first session was held on 15 February 1997. Mr. Illahi Bukhsh Soomro took oath of the office of the Speaker National Assembly on 16 February 1997. Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif took oath as prime minister of Pakistan and leader of the house on 17 February 1997. The new Assembly came into power with an overwhelming majority. The Article 58(2)(b) was later on omitted from the Constitution vide 13th Amendment in the Constitution in April 1997. It may be pertinent to note at this point that while, ostensibly, sixteen amendments have been made in the Constitution so far, the ninth and the eleventh Constitutional Amendments were, however, passed by the Senate alone and fifteenth by the National Assembly alone, hence these amendments lapsed. The fourteenth Amendment in the Constitution empowered a check on floor crossing of legislators.

1999 Musharraf Emergency

Chief of Army Staff General Pervaz Musharraf, who was also Chairman Joint Staff Committee, took over the government from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and declared himself as Chief Executive through a Proclamation of Emergency, on 12 October 1999. Through Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO) issued on 14 October 1999, he held the Constitution in abeyance, suspended the Senate, National and Provincial Assemblies, Chairman and Deputy Chairman Senate, Speaker, Deputy Speaker National and Provincial Assemblies and dismissed the Federal and Provincial governments. President Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Tarar was, however allowed to continue in his office. Under PCO (order No. 6) 29 October 1999, (as amended by C.E. Order No.5, 4 July 2001), the National Security Council was established for the purpose to tender advice to the Chief Executive (later on President), on matters relating to Islamic ideology, national security, sovereignty, integrity and solidarity of Pakistan so as to achieve the aims and objective as enshrined in the Objectives Resolution 1949.

Syed Zafar Ali Shah, MNA and Illahi Bukhsh Soomro, Speaker National Assembly, challenged the suspension orders in the Supreme Court. The Court in its judgment on 12 May 2000 validated the military takeover by giving three years time frame to the government, starting from 12 October 1999. The Court in its judgement asked the government to complete its agenda and then hand over powers to the elected government. The court also allowed the military government to bring necessary Constitutional Amendments, provided that those should not change the basic feature of Federal Parliamentary democracy, independence of judiciary and Islamic provisions in the Constitution. The court reserved the right of Judicial Review and power of validity of any act or any action of the government, if challenged, in the light of State necessity. On 20 June 2001, through a notification (C.E. Order No.1) the Chief Executive assumed the office of the president of Pakistan under President's Succession Order, 2001. On the same day, through another Order (C.E. Order No. 2, 2001), the president converted the orders of suspension of legislative bodies and their presiding officers, into dissolution. The elections for twelfth National Assembly was held on 10 October 2002. The inaugural session of the National Assembly was held on 16 November 2002 and Ch Amir Hussain and Sardar Muhammad Yaqoob were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker respectively on 19 November 2002. Mir Zafar ullah Jamali was elected leader of the house on 21 November 2002. Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain gave the ruling on 14 June 2003 that LFO is the part of the Constitution of Pakistan. On this issue, Opposition Parties submitted a resolution for vote of no confidence against Speaker National Assembly on 20 June 2003 which was rejected on 28 June 2003.

National Assembly of Pakistan expressed confidence in the leadership of President General Pervez Musharaf through the resolution on 1 January 2004. President General Pervez Musharaf addressed the Joint Session of the Parliament on 17 January 2004. Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned from his office on 26 June 2004. Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was elected the 21st Prime Minister of Pakistan on 29 June 2004 and obtained a vote of confidence from the National Assembly on 30 June 2004. Mr. Shaukat Aziz was elected the leader of the house on 27 August 2004 and was administered oath of the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 28 August 2004. National Assembly of Pakistan completed its Constitutional tenure on 15 November 2007. After the resignation from the post of Chief of Army Staff, Mr. Pervez Musharaf administered the oath of President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 29 November 2007.

2008 Election

The date of next General Election was fixed for 28 January 2008. After the assassination of Muhatarma Benazir Bhutto on 27 December 2007, date of election was rescheduled for 18 February 2008. The first session of the National Assembly was held on 17 March 2008. Dr. Fehmida Mirza and Mr. Fasial Karim Kundi were elected Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly respectively on 19 March 2008. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani was elected the Prime Minister of Pakistan by the house on 24 March 2008 and unanimously obtained the Vote of Confidence from the house on 29 March 2008. Mr. Pervez Musharaf submitted his resignation from his office to the Speaker National Assembly on 18 August 2008 and Mr. Asif Ali Zardari was elected 13th President of Pakistan for next five years on 6 September 2008.

President Zardari

He addressed the Joint Session of the Parliament on 20 September 2008. President Asif Ali Zardari during his address to the Joint Session of the Parliament on 28 March 2009 asked the Speaker National Assembly to form a committee of both houses for the purpose of proposing amendments in the Constitution in the light of Charter of Democracy (COD). After consultation with the leadership of all political parties in the Parliament, Speaker National Assembly announced the Constitutional Reforms Committee (CRC) on 29 April 2009. After the marathon consultation in 77 meetings, CRC under the Chairmanship of Senator Raza Rabbani presented report of the Committee on 18th Amendment in the Constitution to the Speaker National Assembly on 31 March 2010. The historic 18th Constitutional Amendment was presented and passed by the National Assembly on 8 April 2010 and Senate on 15 April 2010 respectively. After the assent of the president on 19 April 2010, 18th Amendments became part of Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 19th Amendment was passed by the National Assembly on 22 December 2010 and Senate on 30 December 2010 respectively. 19th Amendment became part of the Constitution after the assent of President Asif Ali Zardari on 1 January 2011. 20th Amendment was passed unanimously by National Assembly and Senate on 20 February 2012.

Electoral procedure

At the national level, Pakistan elects a bicameral legislature, the Parliament of Pakistan, which consists of a directly elected National Assembly of Pakistan and a Senate, whose members are chosen by elected provincial legislators. The Prime Minister of Pakistan is elected by the National Assembly. The president is elected by the Electoral college, which consists of both houses of Parliament together with the provincial assemblies. In addition to the national parliament and the provincial assemblies, Pakistan also has more than five thousand elected local governments. Elections in Pakistan are conducted under the supervision of Election Commission of Pakistan. The country offers a multi-party system, with numerous parties. Frequently, no single party holds a majority, and therefore parties must form alliances during or after elections, with coalition governments forming out of negotiations between parties. The Parliament of Pakistan consists of the president and two houses to be known respectively as National Assembly and the Senate. The National Assembly consists of 342 Seats including 60 seats reserved for Women and 10 Seats reserved for Non-Muslims. The Senate consists of 100 Members including 17 Seats reserved for Women and 17 Seats reserved for Technocrats and Ulema. The Members of the National Assembly are elected for a term of 5 years whereas the Members of the Senate are elected for a term of 6 years with staggered elections every 3 years

The Parliament of Pakistan – viz the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan – met on 10 August 1947 in the old Sindh Assembly Building at Karachi. It was in this venue that the Objectives Resolution, which now serves as the grund norm of Pakistan, was passed. In 1956, the first Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was adopted in Karachi at the same Sindh Assembly building which also passed as the Parliament of Pakistan. After the adoption of the Second Constitution of 1962, Parliament sessions were arranged both at Dhaka and a newly constructed building (Ayub Hall) at Rawalpindi. The Parliament was uni-cameral. At the first session of the Parliament at the Ayub Hall, the Martial Law, imposed in 1958, was revoked. Later, in October, 1966, the Parliament was shifted to Dhaka. From 1972 onward, the State Bank auditorium in Islamabad functioned as the National Assembly of Pakistan. The Interim Constitution of Pakistan was adopted here in April, 1972. It was here that the first bi-cameral legislature of Pakistan was also born after the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was adopted in 1973. It was again here that the Martial Law, imposed in July, 1977, was revoked on 30 December 1985. The Parliament – the Senate and the National Assembly – have acquired a permanent abode in the present Parliament House, which was inaugurated on 28 May 1986. The Hall was renovated on the orders of the Speaker and inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 3 November 1996.