Pakistan, Islam & the state

The Foundational Texts

The relationship between Islam and the Pakistani state is not aspirational rhetoric; it is positive constitutional law. The keystone is the Objectives Resolution, moved by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan and adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 12 March 1949. Its operative premise is that sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to Almighty Allah alone, and the authority delegated to the State of Pakistan is a sacred trust to be exercised within the limits prescribed by Him. The Resolution promised that Muslims would be enabled to order their lives in accordance with the teachings of Islam as set out in the Quran and Sunnah, while non-Muslims would freely profess and practise their religions.

For decades the Objectives Resolution served as the preamble to the 1956, 1962 and 1973 Constitutions. General Zia-ul-Haq's Presidential Order No. 14 of 1985 (the Revival of the Constitution of 1973 Order) inserted it as a substantive, operative provision via Article 2A of the 1973 Constitution, transforming a statement of intent into enforceable text. The 18th Amendment (2010) retained Article 2A.

Islam in the Body of the 1973 Constitution

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, weaves Islam through its core articles. Article 1 names the country the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Article 2 declares Islam the State religion. Article 31 obliges the State to enable Muslims to order their lives according to Islam, to promote Quranic and Islamic teaching, and to secure the proper organisation of zakat, ushr, awqaf and mosques.

Articles 62 and 63 prescribe qualifications and disqualifications for membership of Parliament, including the now-notorious requirements that a candidate be 'sadiq and ameen' (truthful and honest) — provisions invoked in the disqualification of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in the Panama Papers case (Imran Khan v. Nawaz Sharif, 28 July 2017). Article 41(2) reserves the office of President for a Muslim. Article 227 is decisive: it directs that all existing laws be brought into conformity with the Injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah, and that no law shall be enacted repugnant to those Injunctions.

The Definition of 'Muslim'

The Second Amendment (1974) amended Article 260 to declare Ahmadis (Qadiani and Lahori groups) non-Muslim for constitutional and legal purposes — a unique instance of a legislature defining religious identity. This was reinforced by Ordinance XX of 1984. A CSS candidate must be able to state these instruments by name and date, distinguishing the constitutional definition from the criminal-law restrictions added later.

Institutions of Islamisation

Pakistan's constitutional order created dedicated organs to align law with Islam. The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), established under Articles 228–231 of the 1973 Constitution (with antecedents in the 1962 Constitution's Advisory Council), advises Parliament and the provincial assemblies on whether proposed laws are repugnant to Islam and recommends measures to bring existing laws into conformity. Its recommendations are advisory, not binding — a point examiners test directly.

The Federal Shariat Court (FSC) was created by President's Order No. 1 of 1980, inserted as Chapter 3A (Articles 203A–203J) of the Constitution. Unlike the CII, the FSC exercises judicial power: under Article 203D it may, of its own motion or on petition, examine and decide whether any law is repugnant to the Injunctions of Islam, and strike it down. Appeals lie to the Shariat Appellate Bench of the Supreme Court (Article 203F). The FSC's most consequential ruling came on 28 April 2022, when it held that the prevailing interest-based (riba) financial system violated the Injunctions of Islam and directed the government to make the economy interest-free, with the State Bank and federal government initially appealing before withdrawing in 2023.

The Penal Architecture

The Hudood Ordinances of 1979 — covering zina (adultery/fornication), qazf (false accusation), theft and prohibition (alcohol) — were the centrepiece of Zia's Islamisation drive. Their evidentiary standards, especially for zina, drew sustained criticism. The Protection of Women (Criminal Laws Amendment) Act, 2006 substantially reformed the zina provisions, returning rape to the Pakistan Penal Code (Section 375) and curtailing the Hudood framework's reach.

The blasphemy provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code — Sections 295-A, 295-B (defiling the Quran, added 1982) and 295-C (defiling the name of the Holy Prophet, added 1986) — remain among the most litigated and internationally scrutinised. The Supreme Court's acquittal of Asia Bibi (Asia Bibi v. The State, 31 October 2018) on appeal is the landmark instance illustrating the evidentiary and procedural dimensions of 295-C prosecutions.

Federalism and Religion

The 18th Amendment (2010) devolved many subjects to the provinces but left the federal religious architecture — Article 2, Article 2A, the CII and the FSC — intact, while abolishing the Concurrent List. Zakat and ushr collection operate under the Zakat and Ushr Ordinance, 1980. Candidates should connect these institutions to the broader debate over whether Pakistan is an Islamic state in substance or a Muslim-majority state with Islamic constitutional features.

Why This Matters for the Exam

This topic sits at the intersection of three CSS compulsory papers and is among the highest-yield areas of the syllabus. In Islamic Studies, the segment on 'Islam and the State' and 'an Islamic state' is examined directly, and answers are strengthened by Pakistani constitutional illustration. In Pakistan Affairs, the constitutional development of Pakistan (1947–present), the role of Islam in the constitutions of 1956, 1962 and 1973, and the Islamisation period under Zia-ul-Haq are perennial essay and short-note topics. In the Essay paper, prompts on 'Pakistan as an ideological state', secularism versus theocracy, and the place of religion in governance recur.

How It Is Tested

Examiners reward precise instrument-and-date citation over generalities. A candidate who writes 'the Objectives Resolution of 12 March 1949' and 'Article 2A inserted by P.O. 14 of 1985' outscores one who writes 'Pakistan has Islamic provisions.' Expect short questions asking you to distinguish the advisory CII (Articles 228–231) from the judicial Federal Shariat Court (Articles 203A–203J) — confusing the two is the single most common error. Expect a long answer demanding the trajectory from the Objectives Resolution through the 1974 Second Amendment to the Hudood Ordinances and the 2022 FSC riba judgment.

High-Yield Facts to Retain

• Objectives Resolution: 12 March 1949; made operative as Article 2A by P.O. 14 of 1985.
• Islam declared State religion: Article 2; President must be Muslim: Article 41(2).
• Repugnancy clause: Article 227; CII: Articles 228–231 (advisory); FSC: Articles 203A–203J (judicial, can strike down laws under Article 203D).
• Ahmadis declared non-Muslim: Second Amendment, 1974 (Article 260), reinforced by Ordinance XX of 1984.
• Hudood Ordinances 1979; reformed by Protection of Women Act, 2006.
• Blasphemy: PPC 295-B (1982), 295-C (1986); Asia Bibi acquittal 31 October 2018.
• FSC riba judgment: 28 April 2022.

The PYQ Angle

Past papers have asked candidates to 'Discuss the salient features of an Islamic state in the light of the Quran and Sunnah' and, in Pakistan Affairs, to 'Critically examine the role of Islam in the constitution-making of Pakistan.' The winning structure pairs the normative Islamic framework (shura, adl, accountability before Allah) with the concrete Pakistani provisions above, then offers a reasoned evaluation rather than mere description.