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Pakistan
President
The president, in keeping with the constitutional provision that
the state religion is Islam, must be a Muslim. Elected for a five-year
term by an electoral college consisting of members of the Senate
and National Assembly and members of the provincial assemblies,
the president is eligible for reelection. But no individual may
hold the office for more than two consecutive terms. The president
may resign or be impeached and may be removed from office for
incapacity or gross misconduct by a twothirds vote of the members
of the parliament. The president generally acts on the advice
of the prime minister but has important residual powers. One of
the most important--a legacy of Zia--is contained in the Eighth
Amendment, which gives the president the power to dissolve the
National Assembly "in his discretion where, in his opinion . .
. a situation has arisen in which the Government of the Federation
cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the
Constitution and an appeal to the electorate is necessary."
Data as of April 1994
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