Pakistan Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Type: parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic; military seized power 5 July 1977; President Mohammed Zia-ul-Haq lifted martial law and restored 1973 Constitution on 30 December 1985 but retained his position as Army Chief of Staff; parliament, elected in February 1985, serves 5-year term

Capital: Islamabad

Political subdivisions: four provinces (Baluchistan, North-West Frontier, Punjab, Sind), 1 territory (Federally Administered Tribal Areas)

Legal system: based on English common law but gradually being transformed to correspond to Koranic injunction; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations; President Zia’s government has established Islamic Sharia courts paralleling the secular courts and has introduced Koranic punishments for criminal offenses; martial law courts abolished 30 December 1985, and all cases, including those concerning national security, now require due process

National holiday Pakistan Day, 23 March

Government leader: Gen. Mohammed ZIA-UL-HAQ, President and Army Chief of Staff (since July 1977); confirmed as President through March 1990 in special referendum in December 1984, Prime Minister Mohammed Khan JUNEJO (since March 1985)

Suffrage: universal from age 18

Elections: opposition agitation against rigging elections in March 1977 led to military coup, military promised to hold new national and provincial assembly elections in October 1977 but postponed them indefinitely, elections for municipal bodies were held in 1979 and 1983; nonparty national elections were held in February 1985; many outlawed political parties boycotted polling

Political parties and leaders-relegaiized in December 1985 under legislation requiring parties to register and open books for inspection government still has wide authority under civil code to restrict political activity; law requires disqualification of any parliamentary delegate who changes party affiliation; majority party in parliament is Pakistan Muslim League (PML), Mohammed Khan Junejo; principle opposition party is secular socialist; Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), Benazir Bhutto,major leader); others include Tehrik-i- 1stiqlal, Asghar Khan; National Democratic Party (NDP), Sherbaz Mazari (formed in 1975 by members of outlawed National Awami Party—NAP—of Abdul Wali Khan, who is de facto NDP leader), all the aforementioned are in the Movement for Restoration of Democracy (MRD), formed in February 1981; Pakistan National Party (PNP), Ghaus Bakhsh Bizenjo \Baluch elements of the former NAP); Jamiat-ul-L lema-i-ls!am (JUI), Fazlur Rahman

Communists. party membership very small; sympathizers estimated at several thousand; party is outlawed

Other poFtical or pressure groups, military remains dominant political force; Ulema (clergy), industrialists, and small merchants also influential

Member of . ADB, Colombo Plan, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, 1AE A, IBRD, 1CAC, ICAO, IDA, IDB-- Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, 1HO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, 1PU, IRC, ITU, IWC—Internationa] Wheat Council, NAM, O1C, Economic Cooperation Organization, SAARC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WSG, WTO

NOTE: The information regarding Pakistan on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Pakistan 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Pakistan 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.