The Objectives Resolution passed on March 12, 1949, by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan is the foundational text which played an important role in shaping Pakistan’s constitutional framework in the years to come.
The Objectives Resolution was tabled by the then Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan on March 7, 1949. Fierce debate took place between the leaders of the two parties in the Constituent assembly -Muslim League and Congress. Muslim Leaguers like Liaqat Ali Khan, Sir M. Zafar Ullah Khan, Nazir Ahmad Khan, Dr. Omar Hayat Malik, Nur Ahmad, Dr. Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Abdur Rab Khan Nishtar, Begam Shaista, Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, and Dr. Mahmud Hussain delivered speeches in favor of the Resolution. From the opposition side, leaders like Sris Chandra Chadopadhyaya, Prem Hari Barma, and Bhupendra Kumar Datta etc. spoke against the Resolution. On the day the Resolution was passed, Professor Raj Kumar Chakraverty from East Bengal pointed out a quorum, but the president announced that there was a full quorum.
The opposition moved 17 amendments to the Resolution. However, all of them were defeated through a majority vote.
After the passage of the Objectives Resolution, the Assembly formed, on the same day, a Basic Principles Committee comprising 25 members to prepare a draft Constitution based on the Objectives Resolution.
The core principles of the Resolution.
The Resolution declared that;
Sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Allah Almighty alone and the authority that He has delegated to the state of Pakistan is a sacred trust and is to be exercised within limits set by Him;
The Constituent Assembly, as a representative body of the people of Pakistan, to make a constitution for the sovereign independent State of Pakistan;
State’s powers and authority to be exercised by the chosen representatives of the people;
Principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance and social justice as enunciated by Islam shall be fully observed;
Muslims shall be enabled to order their individual and collective lives in accordance with the injunctions of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah;
Adequate provisions shall be made for the minorities to profess and practice their religions and develop their cultures;
Pakistan shall have a federal form of government with reasonable autonomy for the federating units;
People will enjoy fundamental rights like equality of status and opportunity, equality before law, social, economic, and political justice, freedom of thought, expression, belief and worship, and association subject to reasonable limits imposed by law and public morality;
The state will make required provisions to protect legitimate interests of minorities and backward and depressed classes;
The independence of the Judiciary shall be fully secured;
Territorial integrity of the federation, its independence and all its rights including its sovereign rights on land, sea and air be safeguarded.
According to the Resolution, the aim of all this was so that the people of Pakistan may prosper and attain their rightful and honored place amongst the nations of the world and make their full contribution towards international peace and progress and happiness of humanity.
The Objectives Resolution was included in the constitutions of 1956, 1962 and 1973 as a preamble. It was made as a substantive and operative part of the 1973 Constitution by General Zia ul Haq by adding Article 2A to the constitution through Revival of the Constitution Order of 1985 (P. O. 14 of 1985) on 2nd March 1985.
Later, the Eighth Constitutional Amendment received presidential assent on 9th November 1985. Through the amended Article 270A, the Eighth Amendment affirmed, adopted and declared valid, among other instruments, Revival of the Constitution of 1973 Order, 1985, notwithstanding any judgment of any court. Thus, the Eighth Amendment gave constitutional affirmation and protection to the Revival Order through which Article 2A had already been inserted into the Constitution. In this way, Article 2A was retained as part of the constitutional framework, and the Objectives Resolution continued to have substantive constitutional status.
The Objectives Resolution has been included as an Annexure to the constitution to avoid its automatic suspension, dilution, and abrogation in case the constitution is abrogated.