OxfordAQA IGCSE Pakistan Studies: Pakistan into the 21st Century — Revision Notes

These notes condense topic 3.1.2 of OxfordAQA International GCSE Pakistan Studies 9236, Pakistan into the 21st Century: from Independence to 2022, a compulsory topic in Paper 1 Section B. Use the timeline and tables to fix the order of governments, what each constitutional change did, the main features of each foreign relationship, and the key people and laws on women’s empowerment.

Syllabus coverage

9236 topic 3.1.2 (Version 1.9)

• 3.1.2.1 1947 challenges; Jinnah as Governor-General; Objectives Resolution and 1956, 1962, 1973 constitutions; President, Prime Minister, federalism; democratic concepts and parties; Urdu, regional languages, sport
• 3.1.2.2 Musharraf; Zardari and the 18th and 19th Amendments; 2013 elections and PML government; 2018 elections and 2018–22; Covid-19
• 3.1.2.3 India and Kashmir; China; Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE; USA and Afghanistan; IMF and UN missions
• 3.1.2.4 Women in public life, Benazir Bhutto; education and health, Dr Sania Nishtar; legislation; equality by 2022

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Federalism	Power shared between the federal government and the provinces
Constitution	The basic law setting out how the state is governed
Amendment	A formal change to the constitution passed by parliament
Transparency	Openness of government decisions to public scrutiny
Rule of law	Everyone, including leaders, is subject to the law
Accountability	Officials can be questioned, held responsible and removed
No-confidence vote	A vote in the National Assembly to remove the Prime Minister
CPEC	China–Pakistan Economic Corridor, launched 2015
IMF	International Monetary Fund, which lends to countries with balance-of-payments problems

Constitutional timeline

• 1949 Objectives Resolution: sovereignty belongs to Allah; democracy; minority rights.
• 1956 First constitution: Islamic Republic; parliamentary.
• 1962 Ayub Khan’s presidential constitution.
• 1973 Current constitution: federal, parliamentary, two houses, Urdu as national language.
• 2010 18th Amendment: President’s dissolution power removed; provincial devolution; NWFP renamed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; right to education aged 5–16.
• 2010–11 19th Amendment: revised process for judicial appointments.

Governments 1999–2022

Years	Leader	Remember
1999–2008	Pervez Musharraf	Coup 1999; President 2001; growth; local government; private TV; post-2001 US alliance; Lawyers’ Movement 2007; resigned 2008
2008–13	Asif Ali Zardari (President), PPP government	18th and 19th Amendments; first full parliamentary term completed
2013–18	Nawaz Sharif, then Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (PML-N)	First democratic transfer of power; CPEC; energy projects; anti-militancy operations; Sharif disqualified 2017
2018–22	Imran Khan (PTI)	Ehsaas; health cards; tree planting; IMF programme 2019; Covid-19 response; removed by no-confidence vote April 2022

Covid-19 response

• National Command and Operation Centre coordinated policy.
• “Smart” lockdowns of high-infection areas rather than a long national lockdown.
• Ehsaas emergency cash for low-income families.
• Vaccination campaign from 2021.
• Impact: lost incomes for daily-wage workers, school closures, slower growth.

Foreign relations

Partner	Key points
India	Kashmir dispute; crises and dialogue; tensions in 2019; Kartarpur Corridor
China	Military co-operation (JF-17); CPEC roads, power and Gwadar; agricultural investment
Turkey	Close political and cultural ties
Saudi Arabia, UAE	Financial support; oil; jobs for Pakistani workers and remittances
USA	Post-2001 ally and aid donor; tension over drones and the 2011 Abbottabad raid; refugees and violence from the Afghan war
IMF	Support after the 2008 crisis and in later programmes, with conditions
UN	Pakistan a major contributor of peacekeeping troops

Women’s empowerment

• Benazir Bhutto: Prime Minister 1988–90 and 1993–96; first woman elected to lead a Muslim-majority country.
• Dr Sania Nishtar: founder of Heartfile; led the Ehsaas programme, paying support directly to women.
• Laws: Protection of Women Act 2006; workplace harassment law 2010; anti-honour-killing law 2016.
• Representation: reserved seats for women in the national and provincial assemblies.
• By 2022: progress in schooling and politics; gaps remain in literacy, jobs and rural access.

Culture

• Urdu: national language under the 1973 Constitution; a link language across provinces.
• Regional languages: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Saraiki, Brahui; key to identity.
• Sport: cricket (1992 World Cup), hockey (Olympic golds), squash (Jahangir Khan, Jansher Khan).

Worked example

Question: Explain why the 18th Amendment was important. [4]

Model answer: It removed the President’s power to dissolve the National Assembly, so elected governments were harder to dismiss and parliament was strengthened [1–2]. It devolved many subjects, such as health and education, to the provinces, strengthening federalism [1]. It also renamed NWFP as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and made free education a constitutional right for children aged 5 to 16 [1].

Common mistakes and exam traps

• Mixing up the 1956 and 1973 constitutions. 1973 is the current one.
• Calling Zardari Prime Minister. He was President; the Prime Ministers were from the PPP.
• One-sided judgements. For Musharraf, weigh growth and media freedom against political repression and violence.
• Vague foreign policy answers. Name a specific event, agreement or project.

How is this topic examined?

This topic is examined in OxfordAQA 9236 Paper 1, Section B, worth 28 of the paper’s 77 marks; each paper lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. The section mixes multiple-choice, short and extended response questions on this compulsory topic. Short items reward precise named facts, so learn the dates, places and people in the tables above; the extended responses reward a clear line of argument, two or three developed points with evidence, and a judgement that answers the question.

Frequently asked questions

Who were the Prime Ministers after the 2013 election? Nawaz Sharif until 2017, then Shahid Khaqan Abbasi until 2018.

What was the Ehsaas programme? A social-protection and poverty-reduction programme from 2019, including cash transfers and emergency Covid-19 payments.

Related pages

• Pakistan into the 21st Century study guide
• Paper 1 overview revision notes
• Paper 1 practice questions

Source: OxfordAQA, International GCSE Pakistan Studies (9236) specification, Version 1.9, topic 3.1.2.