Interim
Provincial Assembly of
reconstituted as
Provincial Assembly of
May 19,
1956 to October 7, 1958
Under
the Establishment of West Pakistan Act, 19551, the territories of the Governors’
Provinces of the Punjab, the North-West Frontier and Sind;
the Chief Commissioner’s Province of Baluchistan and
the capital of the Federation; the states of Bahawalpur
and Khairpur, and Baluchistan
States Union; and the Tribal Areas of Baluchistan, the
Punjab and the North-West Frontier, and the states of Amb,
Chitral, Dir and Swat were incorporated into a single
Province namely Province of West Pakistan2.
Section 11,
read with the Second Schedule of the said Act, envisaged that until a
Provincial Legislature was constituted for the West Pakistan, an interim
Provincial Legislature would be constituted comprising the Governor of the West
Pakistan and a Legislative Assembly composed of 310 members (10 general seats, 290
seats for Muslims and 10 seats reserved for women).
It was
also provided in the said Act that this interim Legislature, unless dissolved
earlier, would stand dissolved on expiration of eighteen months from the date
of commencement of the said Act. The election to the interim Legislature was to
be held on a day fixed by the Governor General. It was also provided that the
first meeting of the interim Legislature would be held within sixty days of
completion of election.
The
election of the interim Legislature was held on January 19, 19561 and the results of the election were notified
on January 29, 19562. However, before this interim Assembly
could hold its first sitting, the first Constitution of Islamic Republic of
Pakistan was enacted on February 29, 1956 and came into force with effect from
March 23, 1956. Article 76 of this Constitution contained provision for the
constitution of a Provincial Legislature for
In order
to give constitutional cover to the prevailing political scenario, the 1956
Constitution contained temporary and transitional provisions in Part XIII. According
to Article 225 of the 1956 Constitution, until a Provincial Assembly for the
It held
its first sitting on May 19, 1956 and its last session was held from August 25
to August 28, 1958. This Assembly had held 80 sittings over 6 sessions when
under the proclamation of Martial Law on October 7, 1958, it was dissolved and
the 1956 Constitution was abrogated. Thus it had a life of 2 years 4 months and
19 days.
It may
be mentioned that no elections under the 1956 Constitution could be held. It is
also worth-mentioning that Chaudhri Fazl-e-Elahi was elected as Speaker of this Assembly
through a casting vote of the Presiding Officer, Mirza
Mumtaz Hassan Qizalbash, a member of the Assembly1.
1
PLD 1955, Central
Statutes, page 277 & The West Pakistan Constitutional Manual,
Vol-I, pages 224-248.
2 Section 2 of the Establishment of