Last serving MNA who signed 1973 Constitution bids farewell to Parliament

ISLAMABAD: The last serving member of the National Assembly who signed 1973 Constitution has bid farewell to politics.

During a session at the august house on Friday, a member national assembly (MNA) of the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) Muhammad Nazeer Sultan announced his retirement.

Giving an accolade to the only parliamentarian with honour of having his name on the constitution document, Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq remarked the house was not pleased with the parliamentarian’s decision to retire.

He then invited Sultan to take the floor and speak in reference to Constitution Day – celebrated on April 10 to mark drafting of a constitution based on the fundamental ideological principles of the Islamic Republic while enshrining the rights and duties of the nation towards the country.

I am delighted to be the lone lawmaker in the current national assembly to be bestowed with the honour to sign the constitution, he said. “This is the end of my political career as I announce retirement.”

“My son will be contesting elections in the upcoming general elections in my place.”



Sultan was first elected to the lower house of the parliament as a candidate of Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan from Constituency NA-48 (Jhang-III) in Pakistani general election, 1970. In 1977 he was reelected on a Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) ticket and again in the 1988 general elections. He secured seat in 1990 and 1993 as well.

However, the lawmaker could not retain his seat in elections of 1997, 2002 and 2008. In 2013, he was re-elected as MNA from PML-N constituency of NA-90.

Constitution Day

During the session, PPP leader Syed Naveed Qamar proposed that the august house should mark Constitution Day with a discussion. Recalling that PPP founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto had crafted the constitution along with an alliance of other political parties, he said despite martial laws the constitution could not be abolished as even the dictators knew it could not be reconstituted.

He added that the country’s direction may be changed if all political parties united. “There is talk to roll-back amendments carried out by the parliament.”

Referring to the top court’s judgment in the Article 62 case, he demanded that the parliament should be entrusted to decide period of disqualification as no other institution had the power to add even one word to the constitution.

PML-N’s Captain (Rtd) Muhammad Safdar Awan also spoke on the occasion, stressing that the 1973 constitution strengthened the federation. He pointed out that former dictator General (retd) Pervez Musharraf was not tried under Article 6 of the Constitution despite abrogating it.

The house saw some drama as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s Shireen Mazari was not given the floor to speak. Speaker Sadiq instead allowed Maulana Ameer Zaman to speak, following which Mazari pointed out the quorum leading to a headcount.



When the proceedings resumed, it was prorogued for indefinite period as quorum was found incomplete on recounting. Despite being declared as private member day for Business Advisory Committee, not a single item appearing on the agenda was taken up.