Pakistan is a federation, and like every federation it must answer a basic question: which legislature gets to make laws on which subjects? The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 divides legislative authority between the federation and the provinces. Article 144 deals with an unusual but important situation — when Parliament is allowed to legislate on subjects that normally belong to the provinces.
Quick answer: Article 144 lets Parliament legislate on provincial subjects when two or more provincial assemblies pass resolutions asking it to — a rare federal override.
In this guide
- What Article 144 provides
- How the mechanism works
- Why this provision exists
- Article 144 and Article 143
- The safeguard for provincial autonomy
- Frequently asked questions
- What is Article 144 of the Constitution of Pakistan?
- Can Parliament legislate on provincial subjects without consent?
- Can a province withdraw its consent later?
- How is Article 144 different from Article 143?
What Article 144 provides
Article 144 gives Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) the power to make laws for the provinces on matters that fall within provincial legislative competence, but only on one condition: the legislatures of two or more provinces must first pass resolutions asking Parliament to do so. Parliament cannot reach into provincial subjects on its own initiative under this article — the invitation must come from the provinces themselves, expressed through formal resolutions of their assemblies.
How the mechanism works
The logic of Article 144 is cooperative rather than coercive:
- The provinces invite. Two or more Provincial Assemblies pass resolutions consenting to Parliament legislating on a specified provincial subject for their provinces.
- Parliament legislates. Acting on those resolutions, Parliament may make a law on that subject, and the law applies to the provinces whose assemblies passed the resolutions.
- The province keeps the last word. A Provincial Assembly that consented may later amend or repeal the parliamentary law as it applies to its own province. The province is never permanently locked in — it can take the subject back into its own hands.
Why this provision exists
The framers included Article 144 for practical reasons. Some subjects are provincial in principle but benefit from uniform treatment across provinces — a single consistent law can be more useful than four different ones. Rather than forcing uniformity from the centre, Article 144 lets provinces voluntarily pool their legislative authority where coordination serves them. It is federalism by consent: the provinces remain the masters of their subjects, but they may choose to act together through Parliament when it suits them. Questions of federal–provincial balance surface regularly in Pakistani politics, from debates over emergency provisions to the everyday business of the Senate and the provincial assemblies.
Article 144 and Article 143
Article 144 should be read with its neighbour, Article 143, which deals with repugnancy: where a provincial law conflicts with a federal law on a subject within Parliament’s competence, the federal law prevails. The two articles approach the federal–provincial boundary from opposite sides. Article 143 protects federal supremacy within the federal domain; Article 144 creates a doorway for federal legislation inside the provincial domain — but only with the provinces’ own consent, and always revocable by them.
The safeguard for provincial autonomy
The most important feature of Article 144 is the one that protects the provinces: the right of a consenting Provincial Assembly to subsequently amend or repeal the law for its own province. Without this, a consent given in one political moment could bind a province indefinitely. With it, Article 144 remains what it was designed to be — a facility for voluntary coordination, not a back door to centralisation.
Frequently asked questions
What is Article 144 of the Constitution of Pakistan?
Article 144 empowers Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament) to make laws on provincial subjects for provinces whose assemblies have passed resolutions consenting to it. A province may later amend or repeal such a law for itself.
Can Parliament legislate on provincial subjects without consent?
Not under Article 144. The resolutions of two or more Provincial Assemblies are a precondition. Parliament cannot invoke this article on its own motion.
Can a province withdraw its consent later?
In effect, yes. The Provincial Assembly may amend or repeal the parliamentary law as it applies to that province, reclaiming full control of the subject.
How is Article 144 different from Article 143?
Article 143 says federal law prevails over conflicting provincial law within Parliament’s own legislative field. Article 144 lets Parliament enter the provincial field itself — but only when invited by the provinces, and revocably.
