Business, Government And Society

Assignment
Introduction
Pakistans Constitution of 1973 has seen various adjustments ever since it
was introduced. One of the most recent amendments in the constitution was
the 17th amendment, implemented by General Pervez Musharraf in 2002
during his regime. The 18th amendment was introduced as an effort to
reverse many of the changes introduced by the 17th amendment as well as to
settle many other issues. Heres a brief look at whether it has succeeded in
achieving its objectives.
Effect on Government
The 18th Amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan was passed by National
Assembly of Pakistan on April 8, 2010. It has been considered as a major
milestone for the promotion of democracy, which is one of its most major
features. Senator Rabbani has described it as the beginning of the
democratic era in the country. The amendment tries to block all ways which
have been used in past to demote the democracy. It provides further
safeguard to democracy by annulling the power to hold the constitution in
abeyance or suspension as treason, as has often been done by military
dictators when seizing the power. Furthermore, the power of implementing
emergency has also been greatly reduced, as now it can only be
implemented when approved by both houses of Parliament separately. If the
President decides to impose emergency, then both houses have to give their
approval within 10 days.
Another major change which was introduced by the constitution was the
limiting of Presidents power which have been transferred to the prime
minister, making it similar to like it was in 1973. Additional powers of the
president, which were given under the rule of General Zia-ul-Huq and
General Pervez Musharraf have been rescinded. Likewise, the power of the
president to dissolve the assembly has been reduced. Now the president can
only dissolve the assembly when a vote of confidence has been passed
against the prime minister. The amendment has also lifted the ban on same
becoming the prime minister and chief minister for the third time. This was
most likely done so as to allow Nawaz Sharif to become the prime minister
for the third time.
Another step which has received widespread approval is the limiting of
number of members of Cabinet. The amendment has limited the number of

Cabinet members to 11% of the total number of parliamentarians and the

number of advising members to the Chief minister to be five. This is a
welcome move as it will significantly reduce the expenses which are done on
these ministers which are kept solely in order to satisfy the political needs of
the government.

Effects on Business Sector

The 18th amendment has resulted in some major changes in the business
sector, especially in the agriculture sector. This can most notably be seen in
Baluchistan, where most of the land is barren and dry and is in dire of need
of proper water system for proper agriculture. However, with the 18th
amendment, the federal ministry had been terminated and the sector was
turned over to the provincial government. However, this has change has not
been helpful since by giving the authority to provincial government, there
hasnt been any policy formed which would aid poor farmers or provide them
with any kind of financial assistance.
The cotton industry has also not remained unaffected by the amendment, as
per Dawn. The cotton sector is under huge tremendous pressure to focus on
improving itself. The production has decreased by 33%, while exports have
dropped by 8.93%. This can be attributed to the fact that the cotton sector
was handed over to the Ministry of Textile Industry when the sector was
given the provinces as an effect on 18th amendment. The Ministry has failed
in its role to make any significant improvements in the production of cotton.
In fact it is not only cotton but the agriculture sector on the whole has seen a
decline with the introduction of 18th amendment. This was also noted by
Seerat Asghar, secretary of the ministry who said that before the
implementation of 18th amendment, the government used to spend Rs 60
billion on agriculture, but now with the delegation of duties to provincial
governments the sector has been neglected.
Effect on Society
The social implications of 18th amendment is also far-reaching. The
amendment has focused on providing fair treatment with fundamental rights.
Furthermore, Rights of education, fair trial and information have also been
included in the constitution. This means that in case of an arrest, a fair trial
and due process has to be followed. Every citizen has also been given the
right to have access to all kinds of public information while it has been made
a duty of state to provide education to all children aged between 5 to 16
years.

The amendment has also introduced steps to promote the rights of

underprivileged classes. Not only that but it has also made efforts to deal
with the issue of under representation of a certain classes who are not being
properly represented. Similarly, steps have been introduced to protect the
rights of these classes so that they might not be taken advantage of.
The changing of name of the province N.W.F.P to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has
been met with much enthusiasm especially from the Pashtun nationalists,
who often used the name when describing the province. The change in name
was meant to be pacifying move which would appease the people, however
it also gave rise to certain problems. The name Khyber Pakhtunkhwa means
Khyber side of the land of Pakhtuns however the province is also home to
several other ethnic groups including Chiralis, Hazaras etc. Naming the
province solely after Pukhtuns has given rise to tension among these ethnic
groups.