Fazal Elahi Chaudhry served as the fifth president of Pakistan (August 14, 1973 - September 16, 1978). He had been elected by securing 139 votes against 45 polled for the opposition candidate Amirzada Khan out of a total of 191 votes (45 of the Senate and 146 of the National Assembly). He was elected in the first-ever election for the country’s president by directly elected representatives of the people, raising the hopes and aspirations for the genesis of democratic conventions. Elahi was an exceptional president following authoritative if controversial leaders. He operated as a ceremonial constitutional head of the state. His predecessors and some of his successors were ambitious political players. He, however, chose to stay away from palace intrigues and conspiracies.

Elahi belonged to a notable family of Gujrat. He had received his education from Aligarh University and the University of the Punjab. With an MA in political science and a law degree, he had entered politics in 1930. In Gujrat District Board elections, he was elected unopposed. Later, he remained associated with the All-India Muslim League and participated in the Pakistan Movement. Elahi represented Pakistan in the United Nations in 1952. In 1962, he became the deputy opposition leader after having served in various ministerial positions in the 1950s. Twice he served as speaker of the National Assembly: during 1956-58 and later, during 1972-73.

As speaker he had an influential role in the drafting of the 1973 constitution and evolving national consensus among political leaders. In April 1973, the draft constitution was presented by the speaker to President ZA Bhutto in a gold-embossed leather-bound document. ZA Bhutto considering his experience and submissive nature nominated Elahi as presidential candidate on August 10, 1978. He defeated Khan Amirzada with the support of the Pakistan Peoples Party. He assumed the office of the president on August 14, 1973, under the new democratic constitution.

After turbulent constitutional and political experiments, which resulted in the dismemberment of the state, Pakistan had finally adopted a parliamentary form of government. In a significant departure from the tradition of powerful presidents, the new constitution assigned major powers to the prime minister’s office as the head of government and chief executive. The office of the president was reduced to a ceremonial constitutional figurehead with a symbolic presence as the head of the state. His job consisted of performing some ceremonial constitutional functions as a symbol of unity of the federation, as supreme commander of the armed forces and as custodian of the parliament. Constitutional amendments and legislative bills needed his assent. He also appointed people to constitutional offices on the advice of the prime minister. Fazal Elahi thrivingly accomplished all these said ceremonial functions and performed a substantial role not only in the adoption of the 1973 constitution but also at the stage of implementation. He willingly accepted the role of a modest president. ZA Bhutto, meanwhile, dominated the political and diplomatic fronts. Elahi extended phenomenal support in the establishment of civilian supremacy and the dominating role of the prime minister. A charismatic and autocratic Bhutto effectively marginalised the role of the presidency in state affairs. Fazal Elahi remained dedicated and subservient and always provided space for Bhutto to capture the centre stage. In the case of important state-level delegations, he restricted himself to a required ceremonial presence. Bhutto appeared as the centre of power and authority on domestic political and diplomatic fronts.

Elahi had a zero-intervention policy in state affairs. The military and bureaucratic elite failed to manipulate the office of the president to destabilise the political regime.

During the 1974 OIC summit in Lahore, Bhutto efficiently built his image as leader of the Muslim ummah through the facilitation of Fazal Elahi. On most occasions, the president left immediately after performing his constitutional role and diplomatic and political business was left to the prime minister and his cabinet.

The opposition approached him and insisted that the president play a more active role during the Balochistan crisis and, later, in the electoral rigging issue. He declined to assume a role beyond his constitutional ambit. Elahi remained loyal and submissive. This annoyed the opposition. He was ridiculed by his opponents with slogans raised and written on the walls of the presidency: “Release Fazal Elahi.”

He was often portrayed as a hostage to the prime minister.

Fazal Elahi continued to endorse and promptly implement the decisions taken by the Bhutto government. All military and judicial appointments proposed/ recommended by the regime were instantly executed. He instantly dissolved the assembly on the advice of the prime minister on January 5, 1977, in a surprise move to hold fresh elections. Post elections, due to the rigging issue, a political crisis emerged in the country. Despite invitations from opposition leaders for intervention, he extended support to the embattled prime minister. Bhutto was never anxious about him, and he proved himself thoroughly trustworthy.

After the imposition of martial law on July 5, 1977, Fazal Elahi was retained as president as Zia did not feel threatened by him. During the crisis, the opposition never asked for his resignation. After his term as president expired on August 14, 1978, he relinquished the charge on his own request on September 16, 1978.

During his tenure, the office of the president lost its traditional grandeur. Elahi dissociated himself from active politics and largely remained aloof from the power game. He had a zero-intervention policy in state affairs. The military and bureaucratic elite failed to manipulate the office of the president to destabilise the political regimes. Fazal Elahi set a new precedent for a constitutional figurehead with a limited constitutional role.

The interventionist establishment was irritated and amended the constitution through the 8^th Amendment, restoring the position and power of the president as the operational head of the state. The amendment shifted the balance of power in favour of the president through the notorious Article 58(2B). The presidency thus re-assumed its traditional role of power broker and kingmaker. It also emerged as the proxy and custodian of the establishment’s political interests through political and constitutional manipulation.

The writer teaches in the Department of History, Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. She has a PhD from Quaid-Azam University, Islamabad. She has worked as a research fellow at Royal Holloway College, University of London. She can be reached at fozia.umar@hotmail.com