Law of Pakistan

Module 3

Federalism, the provinces and legal pluralism: the distribution of powers after the Eighteenth Amendment, the provincial governments, the Council of Common Interests, local government, the merged tribal districts and the personal and customary laws

Pakistan is a federation, and in a federation the first question about almost any rule is: who has the power to make it? The Constitution divides power between the federal Parliament and the provincial assemblies of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, with the Islamabad Capital Territory under the federal government. The Eighteenth Amendment of 2010 moved a very large number of subjects to the provinces, so that today land, agriculture, education, health, labour, local government and much of the criminal and civil law of daily life are provincial or shared, while defence, foreign affairs, currency, citizenship and income tax remain federal. On top of this territorial pluralism, personal law differs by religion and community, and customary practice is strong in some regions. A lawyer, resident or investor who wants to know which law applies must ask four things: which province, which level of government, which personal law and which Article of the Constitution decides between them.

General education on the law of Pakistan, using invented people and businesses. It states laws and procedures in simplified form and is not legal advice. The law and its practice change, and every case turns on its facts, the authority and the province concerned. It does not offer legal representation or a legal opinion on any case. Consult a Pakistani advocate for any real matter.

This course was written on 6 November 2026. To the best of our knowledge, it describes the law of Pakistan as it stood on that date. Laws change, and we may have missed or misunderstood something. If you notice a change, or have other information, please do not hesitate to contact us: we will review it and update the course. We do not claim to be the final source of the law.