The Constitution: The country's current Constitution is its third and took effect on August14, 1973. It has however undergone modification from time to time and is currently operational under a Legal Framework Order with a National Security Council in place.

Head of the State: General Pervez Musharraf, President and Chief of Army Staff.

Head of Government: Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Prime Minister

The Government: The present Government following the 2002-03 elections is a coalition led by the Muslim League (Q) with support from various Islamic parties primarily grouped together under the MMA. The legislature is bicameral.

There are four provinces, namely, Punjab, Sind, the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan. The first two have ML (Q) Governments and the two smaller provinces are under the MMA.

Judiciary: The judiciary includes the Supreme Court, provincial high courts, and other lesser courts exercising civil and criminal jurisdiction. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is appointed by the president; the other Supreme Court judges are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice.

There is also a Federal Shariat Court consisting of eight Muslim judges, including a Chief Justice appointed by the President. Three of the judges are ulema or scholars well versed in Islamic law. The Federal Shariat Court has both original and appellate jurisdiction.

Chief Election Commissioner:Irshad Hasan Khan