By: Hafiz Ahsaan Ahmad Khokhar
The question whether the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly or any committee constituted by it, including a security committee, can directly summon an Army Corps Commander for a briefing on law and order is not merely political in nature; it is a pure question of constitutional competence. The answer must be found strictly within the text, structure, and scheme of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, read with the Rules of Procedure of the KP Provincial Assembly and settled principles of constitutional law.
Constitutional limits on provincial legislative authority
The Constitution establishes a federal system with clearly demarcated spheres of authority. Article 141 provides that Parliament may make laws for the whole or any part of Pakistan, while Article 142 expressly limits the legislative competence of Provincial Assemblies to matters not enumerated in the Federal Legislative List. Article 142(a) reserves all matters in the Federal Legislative List exclusively for Parliament, thereby placing an absolute bar on provincial legislative or oversight authority in respect of such subjects.
Defence and armed forces under the Federal Legislative List
The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, which contains the Federal Legislative List, expressly includes matters relating to the defence of Pakistan and the Armed Forces. Part I of the Federal Legislative List covers, inter alia, defence of Pakistan, the Armed Forces, naval, military and air forces, their organization, command, deployment, discipline, and administration, as well as all matters incidental or ancillary thereto. By constitutional design, therefore, defence and military command are removed entirely from provincial jurisdiction. Any attempt by a Provincial Assembly to summon a senior military commander directly infringes upon this exclusive federal domain.
Command of the Armed Forces under Article 243
Article 243 of the Constitution further reinforces this allocation of authority by vesting the command of the Armed Forces squarely in the Federal Government. Article 243(1) provides that the command of the Armed Forces shall vest in the Federal Government, while Article 243(2) envisages that the supreme command shall be exercised by the President. A Corps Commander, being a key operational commander of the Army, is constitutionally subordinate only within this federally prescribed chain of command. There is no constitutional provision that makes such an officer answerable to any provincial legislature or committee.
Role of the Armed Forces in aid of civil power
Article 245 adds another layer of constitutional clarity. It authorizes the Armed Forces to act in aid of civil power only when so directed by the Federal Government. Although maintenance of law and order is ordinarily a provincial subject, the Constitution consciously ensures that when military assistance is required, it is the Federal Government that calls upon the Armed Forces, determines the scope of deployment, and retains command and oversight. Provincial governments may request assistance, but neither provincial governments nor provincial assemblies acquire any supervisory, oversight, or summoning authority over military officers as a consequence of such deployment.
Limits of provincial assembly rules and committee powers
The powers of a Provincial Assembly to call for information or summon persons are procedural in nature and are regulated by its Rules of Procedure. The Rules of Procedure of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly permit standing or special committees to summon persons, papers, and records only in respect of provincial departments, attached departments, autonomous bodies, or officials who are answerable to the Provincial Government. There is no provision, express or implied, in the Rules that authorizes the summoning of federal constitutional office holders or serving officers of the Armed Forces. The Rules operate strictly within the constitutional limits imposed by Articles 141 and 142 and cannot be interpreted to enlarge the Assembly’s jurisdiction beyond what the Constitution itself permits.
Committees cannot exceed the authority of the Assembly
Committees of the Assembly derive their authority solely from the Assembly and its Rules. It is a settled principle of constitutional and administrative law that a delegate cannot exercise powers greater than those possessed by the delegating authority. Since the KP Provincial Assembly itself lacks constitutional competence to summon an Army Corps Commander, any committee constituted by it, regardless of nomenclature, stands on even weaker legal footing. Any notice or summons issued by such a committee would therefore be without lawful authority and void ab initio.
Constitutional limits on the Speaker’s authority
It is equally important to address the legal status of any ruling or direction issued by the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly purporting to allow or endorse such summoning. The Speaker is a constitutional functionary whose powers are confined to regulating proceedings strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the Rules of Procedure. The Speaker does not possess any independent constitutional authority to expand the jurisdiction of the Assembly or to override express constitutional limitations. A Speaker’s ruling cannot validate an act which the Constitution itself prohibits. Any ruling permitting the summoning of an Army Corps Commander would therefore be unconstitutional, without lawful authority, and legally non est.
Due process and institutional overreach
Articles 4, 10A, and 25 of the Constitution, which guarantee due process, fair trial, and equality before law, also require that every public authority act strictly within the limits of lawful jurisdiction. An act undertaken without constitutional or statutory authority is not merely irregular; it is unconstitutional. Subjecting senior military officers to provincial legislative summons without lawful authority would amount to arbitrary exercise of power and institutional overreach, regardless of whether such action is taken by a committee, the Assembly itself, or endorsed by the Speaker.
Federal balance and separation of powers
From the perspective of constitutional structure, the separation of powers and the federal balance envisaged by the Constitution would be seriously undermined if provincial assemblies were permitted to summon military commanders. Pakistan’s constitutional framework deliberately insulates the Armed Forces from regional and partisan political pressures to preserve unity of command, professionalism, and national cohesion. Allowing provincial legislatures to exercise oversight or summoning powers over the military would fragment defence policy, politicize security matters, and erode the centralized command structure mandated by Articles 243 and 245.
Comparative constitutional practice
Comparative constitutional practice strongly supports this interpretation. In federal democracies such as the United States, India, Canada, and the United Kingdom, defence and military command are treated as central or federal subjects. State or provincial legislatures have no authority to summon military commanders, even where armed forces are deployed internally in aid of civil authorities. Accountability of the military is uniformly routed through the federal executive and the national legislature.
Lawful mechanisms for consultation and coordination
What the Constitution does permit is coordination through lawful channels. Under Article 153 and related provisions, federal–provincial coordination mechanisms exist for consultation. The Federal Parliament may receive briefings from military leadership through parliamentary committees on defence or national security. Provincial executives may coordinate with military commanders through the Federal Government for operational purposes. What the Constitution does not permit is legislative summoning, oversight, or validation of such summoning by a provincial assembly, its committees, or its Speaker.
Conclusion: constitutional position clarified
In conclusion, when Articles 141, 142, 243, 245, and the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution are read harmoniously with the Rules of Procedure of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly, the legal position becomes unambiguous. The KP Provincial Assembly, its Speaker, or any committee constituted under its Rules has no constitutional or statutory authority to directly summon an Army Corps Commander for a law and order briefing. Any such action, including a Speaker’s ruling purporting to authorize it, would be ultra vires the Constitution, violative of the Federal Legislative List, unsupported by the Assembly Rules, and destructive of the federal and institutional balance envisaged by the Constitution.
