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Public Adminstration QUESTION #9553
Question 1
The 1973 Constitution defines 'State' in Article 7 to include federal and provincial governments, assemblies, and tax-levying authorities. What is the significance of this definition for understanding the relationship between 'government' and 'state' in Pakistani constitutional theory?
  • Government and state are synonymous — both refer to the permanent institutional framework that exercises sovereign authority
  • State institutions are permanent and fixed; government is the transient body of elected representatives and career civil servants who occupy and operate those institutions within a five-year electoral cycle✔️
  • State refers only to elected organs (legislature, executive); permanent civil service is a separate branch not included within the constitutional definition of state
  • The state includes only federal-level institutions; provincial governments operate as autonomous entities not subject to the state definition
Correct Answer Explanation
The Constitution distinguishes state (permanent institutional framework: governments, assemblies, courts, tax authorities) from government (the elected/appointed people who temporarily occupy those institutions). Governments change after elections every five years; the state endures. This distinction has practical importance for understanding institutional continuity, civil service permanence, and constitutional accountability.