How is Pakistan’s parliament different from India’s? Also called...its women reservation is...know seats distribution, reservations, more

India is the oldest democracy and has one of the biggest legislative body, its parliament. It functions with two houses, the upper house is called the Rajya Sabha and the lower house is called the Lok Sabha. However, ever wondered what is Pakistan's parliament like? How does its government function?  

Pakistan’s parliament at the time of Partition 

Pakistan’s first Constituent Assembly was constituted on July 26, 1947, with only 69 members which later increased to 79. This assembly was behind framing the country’s Constitution. However, until its new Constitution, the government functioned on the basis of the Government of India Act 1935. 

Pakistan's Parliament  

It is very much like India’s parliament with a bicameral governing structure. Here, the lower house is the National Assembly which is called the ‘Qaumi Assembly’ and the upper house is the Senate which is called ‘Aiwan-e-Bala'. Both these houses function exactly like India’s Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The National Assembly has elected representatives from across constituencies in the country. The Senate has members elected by the provincial assemblies. These two houses are responsible for making governing policies.  

Pakistan’s Parliament is also called the Majlis-e-Shoora which is situated in Islamabad. However, it was not always in the capital but in Karachi in 1960. As opposed to India, President is very much a part of Pakistan’s parliament, and he is also the highest constitutional authority in the country. 

Distribution of seats 

To win seats in the National Assembly, a political party or coalition must win more seats than others to form a government. To attain a simple majority a party/coalition must get 169 seats or more. The winning party chooses the speaker, deputy speaker, and prime minister. 

Due to impending elections in Pakistan, the difference between reserved and regular seats is blurred. Candidates can freely run for direct elections on the general seats which have no reservation based on gender or minority group. These are 266 in total. Also, to encourage woman participation, every 3.5 general seats should have a reservation for one woman. On the other hand, the National Assembly has 336 seats out of which 266 are general, while 60 are reserved for women. 

The non-Muslim seats are not based on province-wise but on the entire distribution of seats in the National Assembly.