National holiday:
Republic Day, 23 March (1956)
Constitution:
12 April 1973; suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments 30
December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in
2002; amended 31 December 2003
Legal system:
based on English common law with provisions to accommodate
Pakistan's status as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved
parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims
Executive branch:
note: following a military takeover on 12 October 1999, Chief of
Army Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee,
General Pervez MUSHARRAF, suspended Pakistan's constitution and
assumed the additional title of Chief Executive; on 12 May 2000,
Pakistan's Supreme Court unanimously validated the October 1999 coup
and granted MUSHARRAF executive and legislative authority for three
years from the coup date; on 20 June 2001, MUSHARRAF named himself
as president and was sworn in, replacing Mohammad Rafiq TARAR; in a
referendum held on 30 April 2002, MUSHARRAF's presidency was
extended by five more years; on 1 January 2004, MUSHARRAF won a vote
of confidence in the Senate, National Assembly, and four provincial
assemblies
chief of state: President General Pervez MUSHARRAF (since 20 June
2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Shaukat AZIZ (since 28 August
2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
elections: the president is elected by Parliament for a five-year
term; note - in a referendum held on 30 April 2002, MUSHARRAF's
presidency was extended by five more years (next to be held in
2007); the prime minister is selected by the National Assembly (next
to be held in 2007)
election results: AZIZ elected by the National Assembly on 27 August
2004 with 191 of the votes
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of the Senate (100
seats - formerly 87; members indirectly elected by provincial
assemblies to serve six-year terms and the National Assembly (342
seats - formerly 217; 60 seats represent women; 10 seats represent
minorities; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in March 2006 (next to be held in
March 2009); National Assembly - last held 10 October 2002 (next to
be held in 2007)
election results: Senate results - percent of vote by party - NA;
seats by party - PML 47, PPPP 9, MMA 20, MQM/A 6, PML/N 4, PML/F 1,
PkMAP 3, ANP 2, PPP 3, JWP 1, BNP-Awami 1, BNP-Mengal 1, BNP/H 1,
independents 1; National Assembly results - percent of votes by
party - NA; seats by party - PML/Q 126, PPPP 81, MMA 63, PML/N 19,
MQM/A 17, NA 16, PML/F 5, PML/J 3, PPP/S 2, BNP 1, JWP 1, PAT 1,
PML/Z 1, PTI 1, MQM/H 1, PkMAP 1, independents 3
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president); Federal
Islamic or Shari'a Court
Political parties and leaders:
Awami National Party or ANP [Asfandyar Wali KHAN]; Balochistan
National Party/Hayee Group or BNP/H [Dr. Hayee BALUCH]; Baluch
National Party/Awami or BNP/Awami [Moheem Khan BALOCH]; Baluch
National Party-Mengal or BNP/M [Sardar Ataullah MENGAL]; Jamhoori
Watan Party or JWP; Jamiat-al-Hadith or JAH [Sajid MIR];
Jamiat-i-Islami or JI [Qazi Hussain AHMED]; Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam,
Fazlur Rehman faction or JUI/F [Fazlur REHMAN]; Jamiat
Ulema-i-Islam, Sami ul-HAQ faction or JUI/S [Sami ul-HAQ]; Jamiat
Ulema-i-Pakistan or JUP [Shah Faridul HAQ]; Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
Pakistan or MMA [Qazi Hussain AHMED]; Muttahida Qaumi Movement,
Altaf faction or MQM/A [Altaf HUSSAIN]; Muttahida Quami Movement,
Haqiqi faction or MQM/H [Afaq AHMAD]; National Alliance or NA
[Ghulam Mustapha JATOI]; Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party or PkMAP
[Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI]; Pakhtun Quami Party or PQP [Mohammed Afzal
KHAN]; Pakistan Awami Tehrik or PAT [Tahir ul QADRI]; Pakistan
Muslim League, Functional Group or PML/F [Pir PAGARO]; Pakistan
Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif faction or PML/N [Nawaz SHARIF];
Pakistan Muslim League or PML [Chaudhry Shujaat HUSSAIN]; note - as
of May 2004, the PML/Q changed its name to PML and absorbed the
PML/J, PML/Z, and NA; Pakistan National Party or PNP [Hasil
BIZENJO]; Pakistan People's Party or PPP [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO];
Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Benazir BHUTTO];
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN]; Tehrik-i-Islami
[Allama Sajid NAQVI]
note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently
Political pressure groups and leaders:
military remains most important political force; ulema (clergy),
landowners, industrialists, and small merchants also influential
International organization participation:
ARF, AsDB, C (reinstated 2004), CP, ECO, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO,
MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC,
SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR,
UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO