Objectives Resolution

The Objectives Resolution (Urdu: قرارداد مَقاصِد) was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on March 12, 1949. The resolution proclaimed that the future constitution of Pakistan would not be modeled entirely on a European pattern, but on the ideology and democratic faith of Islam. The resolution, in its entirety, has been made part of the Constitution of Pakistan under Article 2A

Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan presented it in the assembly on March 7, 1949. Out of 75 members of the assembly, 21 voted for opposing it. All the amendments proposed by minority members were rejected. Consequently, all ten of them voted against it.

The Pakistani Objectives Resolution

Sovereignty over the entire Universe belongs to Allah Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the state of Pakistan, through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust.

1. This Constituent Assembly representing the people of Pakistan resolves to frame a constitution for the sovereign independent state of Pakistan.
2. The state shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people.
3. The principles of democracy, freedom, equality, tolerance, and social justice, as enunciated by Islam, shall be fully observed.
4. The Muslims shall be enabled to order their lives in the individual and collective spheres in accordance with the teachings and requirements of Islam as set out in the Holy Quran and Sunnah.
5. Adequate provision shall be made for the minorities to freely progress and practice their religions and develop their cultures.
6. Pakistan shall be a federation and its constituent units will be autonomous.
7. Fundamental rights shall be guaranteed. They include equality of status, opportunity and before law, social, economic, and political justice, and freedom of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, and association, subject to (the) law and public morality.
8. Adequate provisions shall be made to safeguard the legitimate interests of minorities and backward and depressed classes.
9. The independence of the judiciary shall be fully secured.
10. The integrity of the territories of the federation, its independence, and all its rights, including its sovereign rights on land, sea, and air shall be safeguarded.
11. The people of Pakistan may prosper and attain their rightful and honored place among the nations of the world and make their full contribution towards international peace and progress and the happiness of humanity.

Purportedly combining the features of both Western and Islamic democracy, it is considered one of the most important documents in the constitutional history of Pakistan. It was strongly supported by Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, Dr. Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Dr. Omar Hayat Malik, Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar, Noor Ahmad, Begum Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, Muhammad Hussain and others. At the time it was passed, Liaquat Ali Khan called it "the most important occasion in the life of this country, next in importance only to the achievement of independence". However, not everyone in Pakistan had such as high praise and unbounded admiration for it.

The non-Muslim members of the constituent assembly vigorously opposed it, and all of them voted against it. Birat Chandra Mandal said that Jinnah had unequivocally said that Pakistan would be a secular state. Sris Chandra Chattopadhyaya, the Dhaka-born leader of the opposition, said in the constituent assembly on March 12, 1949:

Ayaz Amir, a prominent media commentator and a former member of Pakistan's parliament, has criticized the constituent assembly for lavishing attention on this "piece of rhetoric" which was "of no practical benefit to anyone." Even Maulana Maududi, a big supporter of the resolution, was disappointed with the fact that it did not produce any positive results. According to him, it was such a rain that was neither preceded by a gathering of clouds nor was it followed by vegetation.

According to Ms. Rubina Saigal, an eminent Pakistani intellectual, Maulana Maududi's theory of divine sovereignty was incorporated into the resolution. According to her:

As mentioned above, the resolution is included in the Annex of the current Constitution of Pakistan by virtue of Article 2A of the Constitution.