Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan - Definition

The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed in 1997, during the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Pakistan Muslim League party. It subjected Members of Parliament to so-called Party Discipline, which gave party leaders the unchecked power to dismiss any of their legislators if they failed to vote as the party leaders commanded.

Since the ruling party had a majority in Parliament, the Fourteenth Amendment gave the Prime Minister immunity from being dismissed by a no confidence vote.

In Pakistan, once legislators are elected to national or provincial assemblies, there is no way for the people to recall them before the end of their five-year terms. In the past, this has contributed to a sense of immunity on the part of members of the ruling party, and to rampant corruption among leading politicians. The combined effect of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments was to take away institutional Checks and Balances on the Prime Minister's power, giving him immunity from being legally dismissed.