DISSOLUTION OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY – ARTICLE 58 EXPLAINED

The sequence of political events taking place one after the other, from the vote of no-confidence tabled against the Prime Minister Imran Khan to the dismissal of the no-confidence motion by the National Assembly deputy speaker, and the subsequent dissolution of the Assembly by President Arif Alvi and the call for general elections; had created

The sequence of political events taking place one after the other, from the vote of no-confidence tabled against the Prime Minister Imran Khan to the dismissal of the no-confidence motion by the National Assembly deputy speaker, and the subsequent dissolution of the Assembly by President Arif Alvi and the call for general elections; had created a deadlock situation on which the Supreme Court took suo moto action regarding its constitutionality. The Supreme Court gave a landmark verdict this Thursday, on 7^th April 2022, in which it set aside the Deputy Speaker’s ruling and declared it unconstitutional for the deputy speaker to dismiss the vote of no-confidence motion whatsoever the grounds may be. The apex court ruled that the President’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly was also “contrary to the Constitution and the law and of no legal effect”. The court heavily relied on Article 58 of the constitution regarding the dissolution of National Assembly, which is explained below.

Article 58 of the Constitution of Pakistan is regarding the dissolution of the National Assembly and states the constitutional powers assigned to the President with respect to dissolution of Assemblies along with the bars placed on it. Clause (1) states that the President shall dissolve the National Assembly if so advised by the Prime Minister; and the National Assembly shall, unless sooner dissolved, stand dissolved at the expiration of forty-eight hours after the Prime Minister has so advised. This fairly outlines the Presidential power, and the role the prime minister can play in the dissolution of the Assembly. However, of prime importance are the restrictions placed on this very authority. The clause further explains that a reference in this Article to “Prime Minister” shall not be construed to include a reference to a Prime Minister against whom a notice of a resolution for a vote of no-confidence has been given in the National Assembly but has not been voted upon or against whom such a resolution has been passed or who is continuing in office after his resignation or after the dissolution of the National Assembly. In the verdict, the court noted that the Prime Minister could not have advised the president to dissolve the assembly as he continues to remain under the bar imposed under clause (1) of Article 58 of the Constitution.

There were two possibilities to the court’s decision. Firstly, the Supreme Court of Pakistan could have ordered the speaker to go ahead with the no-confidence motion. In that case, the PM’s advice for the dissolution of the assemblies would have become invalid, which is exactly how the verdict turned out with all five judges unanimously voting 5-0 against the speaker’s ruling. Another possibility could have been the case of former Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo who was ousted by General Zia-ul-Haq in 1988. The Supreme Court had decided in favour of Junejo that his government was dissolved unconstitutionally. But the Court went on to state that since elections had been announced, it was best if Pakistan moved ahead with them.

Clause 58 (2) states that the President may dissolve the National Assembly in his discretion where, a vote of no-confidence having been passed against the Prime Minister, no other member of the National Assembly commands the confidence of the majority of the members of the National Assembly in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Such a situation has not developed where the president uses this discretionary power to dissolve the assembly when he thinks the National Assembly no longer holds a majority and declares for a new government to come. In past, the 8^th amendment introduced a clause into Article 58 of the Constitution; 58 (2)b, which granted the discretionary power to dissolve the National Assembly. It was invoked three times in the 1990s – by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in 1990, by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in 1993, and by President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari against Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in November 1996. In 1997, the 13^th Amendment was passed, stripping the President of the power to dissolve the National Assembly and call for new elections since, it disrupted the tenure of the Assembly and brought instability to the parliamentary system.

In conclusion, the application of Article 58 in this case depended on the decision regarding the NA deputy speaker’s ruling. Had the ruling of the speaker been declared constitutional, the Prime Minister would no longer have been under the vote of no-confidence and the bar imposed in Article 58 (1) would not have applied. Since the Court decided the other way around, the Premier and the National Assembly are back in session with the vote of no-confidence set to take place on 9^th April 2022.