Abstract

Pakistan has been a federal state since 1947 though it remained under question how effective the system was because the federating units repeatedly complained the overpowering of the Central authority over the provincial subjects. Since its inception to date, provinces keep on complaining that they have not been given the due shares, powers and autonomy as promised by Quaid-i-Azam, which he delivered before and after the attainment of complete independence. Even the East Pakistan got separation from the West Pakistan because the Bengalis believed that the East Pakistan did keep on exercising the provincial autonomy. Keeping in view the mistakes of the past, in the 1973 Constitution effort was made to introduce such a federal structure where greater provincial autonomy should be introduced. Therefore, this article attempts to understand the history of working of the federal system in Pakistan from 1947 to 2008 so that one can have an overview of the past experience of the federal system in Pakistan to know exactly how the two political parties, namely Pakistan People’s Party and Pakistan Muslim League (N) responded and behaved to the federal system when they came into power in the centre and the Punjab in 2008.