Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 in the context of "Iskander Mirza"

East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1956 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, with a coastline on the Bay of Bengal. To distinguish this region from India's state West Bengal (which is also known as "Indian Bengal"), East Pakistan was known as "Pakistani Bengal". East Pakistanis were popularly known as "Pakistani Bengalis". In 1971, East Pakistan became the newly independent state Bangladesh, which means "country of Bengal" or "country of Bengalis" or "land of Bengalis" in the Bengali language. In standard meaning, "desh" refers to a country, but in Bangla local expressions, "desh" also means one's village or countryside, hometown, ancestral heritage, homeland, and they do not have to be a politically formed sovereign country.

East Pakistan was formed with West Pakistan at the reorganization of One Unit Scheme orchestrated by the 3rd prime minister of Pakistan, Mohammad Ali. The Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 replaced the Pakistani monarchy with an Islamic republic. Bengali politician H.S. Suhrawardy served as the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1956 and 1957 and a Bengali bureaucrat Iskander Mirza became the first President of Pakistan. The 1958 Pakistani coup d'état brought general Ayub Khan to power. Khan replaced Mirza as president and launched a crackdown against pro-democracy leaders. Khan enacted the Constitution of Pakistan of 1962 which ended universal suffrage. By 1966, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman emerged as the preeminent opposition leader in Pakistan and launched the six-point movement for autonomy and democracy. The 1969 uprising in East Pakistan contributed to Ayub Khan's overthrow. Another general, Yahya Khan, usurped the presidency and enacted martial law. In 1970, Yahya Khan organised Pakistan's first federal general election. The Awami League emerged as the single largest party, followed by the Pakistan Peoples Party. The military junta stalled in accepting the results, leading to civil disobedience, the Bangladesh Liberation War, 1971 Bangladesh genocide and persecution of Biharis.

East Bengal (/bɛnˈɡɔːl/; Bengali: পূর্ব বাংলা/পূর্ববঙ্গ Purbô Bangla/Purbôbongo) was the easternmost and non-contiguous province of the Dominion of Pakistan, which covered the territory of modern-day Bangladesh. It consisted of the eastern portion of the British administrative Bengal province and the lion half of Sylhet district from the Assam province. East Bengal existed from 1947 until 1956, when it was re-structured as East Pakistan under the One Unit Scheme by the Constitution of Pakistan of 1956. East Bengal had a coastline along the Bay of Bengal to the south, and bordered India to the north, west, and east and shared a small border with Burma (presently known as Myanmar) to the southeast. It was situated near, but did not share a border with Nepal, Tibet, the Kingdom of Bhutan and the Kingdom of Sikkim. Its capital was Dacca, now known as Dhaka.

The Partition of India, which divided Bengal along religious lines, established the borders of the Muslim-majority area of East Bengal. The province existed during the reign of two monarchs, George VI and Elizabeth II; and three governors-general, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Khawaja Nazimuddin and Ghulam Muhammad. Its provincial governors included a British administrator and several Pakistani statesmen. Its chief ministership was held by leading Bengali politicians.

Pakistan Day (Urdu: یومِ پاکستان, lit. Yaum-e-Pakistan) is a national holiday in Pakistan primarily commemorating the adoption of the first Constitution of Pakistan during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 23 March 1956 making Pakistan the world's first Islamic republic, which remains a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations. The day also celebrates the adoption of the Lahore Resolution by the Muslim League at the Minar-e-Pakistan (lit. 'Pakistan Tower') which called for the creation of independent sovereign states derived from the provinces with Muslim majorities located in the North-West and East of British India (excluding autonomous princely States) on 24 March 1940.

The day is celebrated annually primarily by Government officials and army staff throughout the country and is a public holiday for civilians. While civilians do not celebrate the public holiday, the Pakistan Armed Forces usually hold a military parade to celebrate both the passing of the Lahore Resolution in 24 March 1940 and the Constitution of Pakistan of 1956.

The Constitution of Pakistan (Urdu: آئینِ پاکستان, romanized: Ā'īn-e-Pākistān; also known as the 1973 Constitution) is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outline, the fundamental rights of the population, the state's law and orders, and also the structure and establishment of the institutions and the armed forces. Drafted by the government of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, with additional assistance from the country's opposition parties, it was unanimously approved by the 5th Parliament on 10 April and ratified on 14 August 1973. The first three chapters establish the rules, mandate, and separate powers of the three branches of the government: a bicameral legislature; an executive branch governed by the prime minister as chief executive; and an apex federal judiciary headed by Supreme Court. The Constitution designates the president of Pakistan as a ceremonial Head of State who is to represent the unity of the state. The first six articles of the constitution outline the political system as a federal parliamentary republic system; as well as Islam as its state religion. The Constitution also encapsulates provisions stipulating the legal system's compliance with Islamic injunctions contained in the Quran and Sunnah.

The Parliament cannot make any laws which may be repugnant or contrary to the Constitution; however, the Constitution itself may be amended by a two-thirds majority in both the houses of the bicameral Parliament, unlike the previous legal documents of 1956 and 1962. It has been amended over time, and most recent impulses for political upgrades and reforms has been amended. Although enforced in 1973, Pakistan, however, celebrates the adoption of the constitution on 23 March—when the first set was promulgated in 1956 each and every year as Republic Day.Technically there are 26 amendments but 23 amendments were made in constitution and three were not passed by the parliament as the three amendments collapsed.

The President of Pakistan is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the federal parliament, the first citizen of the country, and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. Serving as the ceremonial head of the federation, the president is bound to act on advice of the prime minister and the federal cabinet. Asif Ali Zardari is the 14th and current president, having assumed the presidency on 10 March 2024.

The office of president was created upon the proclamation of Islamic Republic on 23 March 1956. The then serving governor-general, Major General Iskander Mirza, assumed office as the first president. Following the 1958 coup d'etat, the office of prime minister was abolished, leaving the Presidency as the most powerful office in the country. This position was further strengthened when the 1962 Constitution was adopted. It turned Pakistan into a Presidential Republic, giving all executive powers to the president. In 1973, the new Constitution established Parliamentary democracy and reduced the president's role to a ceremonial one. Nevertheless, the military takeover in 1977 reversed the changes. The 8th Amendment turned Pakistan into a semi-presidential republic and in the period between 1985 and 2010, the executive power was shared by the president and prime minister. The 18th Amendment in 2010 restored Parliamentary Democracy in the country, and reduced the presidency to a ceremonial position.

The 1958 Pakistani military coup was the first military coup in Pakistan that took place on 27 October 1958. It resulted in the toppling of Iskander Ali Mirza, the president of Pakistan, by Muhammad Ayub Khan, the commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army.

On 7 October, Mirza abrogated the Constitution of Pakistan and declared martial law. Iskander Mirza had lost the support of many of the leading politicians and was alarmed at a plan by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy to unite the political leadership of Bengal and Punjab against him. Therefore he turned to Ayub Khan and the military for help.