Describe the main features of the 1973 Constitution.

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2023). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] it was introduced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
2. [2] there were to be two houses, the Senate and Assembly
3. [1] the Assembly to be elected for five years
4. [1] members of the Senate to be elected from each of the four provinces
5. [2] Pakistan to be a federal republic with a parliamentary system of government
6. [1] the Prime Minister to be head of government
7. [1] Pakistan to be an Islamic Republic with Islam as the state religion
8. [1] the Prime Minister and President to be Muslim
9. [2] fundamental human rights to be recognised, with the Supreme and High Courts to enforce these
10. [2] the President became largely a figurehead whose orders had to be signed by the Prime Minister
11. [2] the Upper House (Senate) to be elected and must not be dissolved
12. [1] emergency powers are available for the government
13. [1] Urdu was re-confirmed as the national language
14. [1] as part of the Ummah (worldwide Muslim community), Pakistan wanted to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians
15. [1] Pakistan felt that it was their religious obligation to help the oppressed people around the world
16. [1] Pakistan promotes harmony and co-operation between Muslim nations
17. [1] support was offered as a result of the Israeli attack on the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem in 1969
18. [1] Pakistan condemned Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands
19. [1] Pakistan, as chair of the Lahore Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in 1974, reinforced Muslim support for the cause following the Arab-Israeli War in 1973
20. [1] Pakistan's involvement in the cause to demonstrate their influential position and status within the Islamic world
21. [1] (May agree) the Cooperative Societies scandal broke in 1991
22. [1] (May agree) there was alleged mismanagement of the Cooperative Societies
23. [1] (May agree) the role of government in the scandal was questioned by some
24. [2] (May agree) two million Pakistanis lost their savings; in Punjab 700 000 people lost all their savings
25. [1] (Counter-argument) the BCCI collapsed in 1991
26. [1] (Counter-argument) investors lost huge sums of money under the BCCI scheme
27. [1] (Counter-argument) some people questioned the role of the government in the BCCI collapse
28. [1] (Counter-argument) the USA ended economic support when the Soviet-Afghan war ended
29. [1] (Counter-argument) US aid ended during the dispute over Pakistan's nuclear programme
30. [1] (Counter-argument) there were problems associated with refugees from the Soviet-Afghan war