Politics in Pakistan

Pakistan is a plural society, a federation of four ethnic provinces Balochistan, NWFP, Punjab and Sindh and three administrative areas Azad Kashmir, Ladakh and FATA. It has a bicameral Parliament consisting of the Senate and National Assembly. The country was bestowed its first comprehensive constitution on 10 April 1973; that was suspended on 5 July 1977, restored with amendments on 30 December 1985; again was suspended on 15 October 1999 while restored on 31 December 2002 with further amendments. This constitutional insecurity has created a perverse political culture, weak civil society, severe human rights violation and lack of tolerance in society. The people of Pakistan have never tasted the real fruits of democracy, the absence of which has given birth to ethnic and inter-provincial disputes and discord, political feuds and religious hostility.