Majlis-e-Shoora

Majlis-e-Shoora (Urdu: مجلس شوری) ("Council of Advisors" in Urdu, although referred to as "Parliament") is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is bicameral federal legislature of Pakistan that consists of the Senate (upper house) and the National Assemblycalled (lower house). According to Article 50 of the Constitution of Pakistan, the Council consists also of the President of Pakistan.

The Constitution gives the President of Pakistan the authority to dissolve (and thereby trigger new elections for) the National Assembly but not the Senate, which is not subject to dissolution.

National Assembly

The National Assembly of Pakistan is the lower house. It consist of 342 members, 272 of whom are directly elected, 60 reserved for women and 10 for minorities. 13 women are directly elected Pakistani law requires that at least 20% of the members be women.

enate

The Senate of Pakistan is upper house of parliament. It has a 100 members; as of 2008, 18 of these members are women, one greater than the required number.According to the constitution President can not dissolve Senate.

Variant spellings

The Constitution, which is written in English, uses the spelling "Majlis-e-Shoora". "Majlis-i-Shoora", "Majlis-e-Shura", and "Majlis-i-Shura" are also valid transliterations from the Urdu spelling.

Parliament House Building

The Parliament of Pakistan - viz the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan - met on August 10, 1947 in the old Sindh Assembly Building at Karachi.It was in this venue that the Objectives Resolution, which now serves as the grund norm of Pakistan, was passed. In 1956, the first Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was adopted in Karachi at the same Sindh Assembly building which also passed as the Parliament of Pakistan.

After the adoption of the Second Constitution of 1962, Parliament sessions were arranged both at Dhaka and a newly constructed building (Ayub Hall) at Rawalpindi. The Parliament was uni-cameral. At the first session of the Parliament at the Ayub Hall, the Martial Law, imposed in 1958, was revoked. Later, in October, 1966, the Parliament was shifted to Dhaka.

From 1972 onward, the State Bank auditorium in Islamabad functioned as the National Assembly of Pakistan. The Interim Constitution of Pakistan was adopted here in April, 1972. It was here that the first bi-cameral legislature of Pakistan was also born after the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was adopted in 1973. It was again here that the Martial Law, imposed in July, 1977, was revoked on December 30, 1985.

The Parliament - the Senate and the National Assembly - have acquired a permanent abode in the present Parliament House, which was inaugurated on May 28, 1986. The Hall was renovated on the orders of the Speaker and inaugurated by the Prime Minister of Pakistan on 3rd November, 1996.

ee also

* Constitution of Pakistan
* Government of Pakistan
* Elections in Pakistan
* Politics of Pakistan
* Supreme Court of Pakistan
* President of Pakistan
* Prime Minister of Pakistan
* Chief Justice of Pakistan
* Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army
* Foreign Minister of Pakistan
* Finance Minister of Pakistan
* Interior Minister of Pakistan
* Defence Minister of Pakistan

External links

* [http://www.senate.gov.pk/ Official website]
* [http://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part3.ch2.html Article 50 of the Constitution of Pakistan]