Hamid Khan's Constitutional And Political History Of Pakistan: What It Actually Is
Hamid Khan was a constitutional lawyer who spent decades teaching this material at LUMS and elsewhere. His book, Constitutional And Political History Of Pakistan, is widely used by law students and competitive exam candidates preparing for the CSS and judiciary exams in Pakistan. It covers the evolution from the Government of India Act 1935 through the 1973 Constitution, with detailed analysis of each martial law period, the Basic Principles Committee report, and the parliamentary debates that shaped the document. Legally speaking, there is no authorized free download of this book. It is a copyrighted work published by Oxford University Press Pakistan. The book sells for roughly 1,500 to 2,200 Pakistani rupees in local bookstores. What you will find on various Pakistani educational websites labeled as free downloads are either scan copies uploaded without permission or PDFs circulated on student forums and WhatsApp groups. I have seen multiple versions floating around. Some are poorly scanned with missing pages. Others have watermarks running through the text that make certain passages impossible to read. I once needed to reference a specific paragraph about the Objectives Resolution debate in the 1949 committee proceedings, and the PDF version I had downloaded had that entire section pixelated and unreadable. I ended up borrowing the physical copy from a colleague at the law library and photocopying just the chapter I needed, which took about twenty minutes. The reason piracy is so prevalent for this particular book is straightforward. Law students and CSS aspirants form a massive, recurring market, and the book is considered essential reading. When your monthly budget is tight and the book costs more than a week's groceries, you do what you can. That does not make it legal, but it explains the supply chain you will encounter if you search for it.
If you want the book legitimately, the most reliable route is ordering through local distributors like Shahids Book House or Borders in Karachi and Lahore, or purchasing the paperback directly from OUP Pakistan's website. The Kindle version is also available through major retailers. The print edition runs approximately 860 pages and is organized chronologically with separate sections for each constitutional milestone. Khan's writing style is academic but accessible. He does not shy away from criticizing judicial interpretations he considers flawed, which some readers find refreshing and others find too polemical. One thing many beginners get wrong about this book is assuming it is purely a historical account. It is not. Khan embeds his own constitutional theory throughout the narrative. He argues consistently that parliamentary sovereignty should have been the dominant principle in Pakistan's constitutional design and that the courts have repeatedly undermined it by expanding their review powers beyond what the founding compromises intended. If you read the book looking for neutral history, you will miss the argument he is actually making. The second edition, published in 2016, expanded on the 18th Amendment and its impact on provincial autonomy, which was a significant update to the earlier material. Another practical detail worth noting: the book's footnotes and references are extensive but not always up to date with the latest case law. If you are using this for exam preparation, you should cross-reference Khan's analysis with the actual text of the 1973 Constitution and recent Supreme Court judgments. I found this out the hard way when I was tutoring a student who cited a point from the book about judicial appointments, only to discover the relevant articles had been amended by the 26th Amendment in 2024. The core historical analysis remains valid, but the current constitutional provisions have shifted in areas Khan did not cover in his final edition.
For anyone trying to use this material effectively, here is the approach that actually works. Read the chronological chapters first to understand the sequence of events, then return to the analytical passages where Khan explains why certain constitutional choices were made and what their consequences have been. The book works best when treated as a commentary rather than a reference manual. You will not find quick answers in it. You will find the reasoning behind the answers, which is more valuable if you are preparing for essay-style examinations where the argument matters more than the fact alone. The main limitation of this book is that it stops its detailed coverage around the early 2010s. Events like the 2015 Supreme Court disqualification proceedings, the 2022 no-confidence motion, and the subsequent constitutional crises are not addressed. If you need material on those developments, you will have to supplement Khan with contemporary legal journals and news archives. Another issue is that some of Khan's criticisms of the judiciary, while sharp, are not universally accepted among constitutional scholars. Reading him alongside authors like Yasser Latif Hamdani or Hina Bin Qadir will give you a more balanced perspective on the contentious cases he discusses. If the cost of the paperback is a barrier and you are genuinely studying this material rather than collecting it, the university library route is the most practical option. Most law faculties in Pakistan maintain multiple copies. I have also found that second-hand copies circulate heavily among graduating students. A used copy in decent condition typically runs 600 to 800 rupees on OLX or through student Facebook groups, which is a fraction of the retail price.
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