The Constitution (Thirteenth Amendment) Act, 1997 was an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed in 1997 by the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. It stripped the President of Pakistan of his right or reserve power to dissolve the National Assembly, call for new elections, and dismiss the Prime Minister. There have been several documents known as the Constitution of Pakistan. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister A prime minister may be either: chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the... Nawaz Sharif (born December 25, 1949) was twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, serving two non-consecutive terms. ... The President of Pakistan (Sadr-e-Mumliqat) is Pakistans Head of State. ... A reserve power is a power that may be exercised by the head of state of a country in certain exceptional circumstances. ... The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan. ...

In Pakistan, once legislators are elected to national or provincial assemblies, the people cannot recall them before the end of their five-year terms. In the past, this has contributed to a sense of immunity on the part of members of the ruling party, and to rampant corruption among leading politicians. A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. ...

The combined effect of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments was to take away institutional Checks and Balances on the Prime Minister's power, giving him immunity from being legally dismissed. The Constitution (Fourteenth Amendment) Act, 1997 was an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed in 1997, during the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League party. ... The doctrine and practice of dispersing political power and creating mutual accountability between political entities such as the courts, the president or prime minister, the legislature, and the citizens. ... Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister A prime minister may be either: chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the...

Nawaz Sharif's government became increasingly unpopular after the passage of these amendments, even though it was the election of his Pakistan Muslim League by a heavy majority that enabled him to alter the Constitution in the first place. The storming of the Supreme Court by political-party goons in 1997, and the forced resignation of the Chief Justice, strengthened the perception that the country was becoming a civilian dictatorship. Muhammed Ali Jinnah, the Great Leader of the Muslim League The All India Muslim League was a political party in British India and was the driving force behind the creation of Pakistan as a Muslim state from British India on the Indian subcontinent. ... Supreme Court of Pakistan, Islamabad The Supreme Court is the apex court in Pakistans judicial hierarchy, the final arbiter of legal and constitutional disputes. ... The Chief Justice of Pakistan heads the Supreme Court of Pakistan. ...

In 1999, Pervez Musharraf assumed power in a military coup. Among the reasons he gave for doing so were the destruction of institutional checks and balances, and the prevailing corruption in the political leadership. The coup was widely welcomed in Pakistan, and the Supreme Court later validated it on the grounds that a situation had arisen for which the Constitution had no remedy, the Thirteenth Amendment having removed a constitutional means of dismissing an unpopular Prime Minister. General Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: ); born August 11, 1943 (near Delhi, India) is the President of Pakistan. ...

In October 2002, elections were held in Pakistan. In December 2003, Parliament passed the Seventeenth Amendment, which partially restored the reserve power of the Presidency, but made it subject to Supreme Court approval. The Parliament of Pakistan is known as the Majlis-e-Shoora (Council of Advisors). ... The Constitution (Seventeenth Amendment) Act, 2003 was an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed in December 2003, after over a year of political wrangling between supporters and opponents of Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. ...

	Constitution of Pakistan
	Main body
	Parts | Annex | Schedules
	Amendments
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