# Article 240 of the Constitution of Pakistan

- Jurisdiction: Pakistan (PK)
- Article: 240
- Chapter (as indexed): Chapter 1: of Part II shall not be abridged.
- Source document: Pakistan Constitution
- Canonical (HTML): https://www.portablelaw.com/provision/63c08153-2b8c-4224-8c40-d438d5d49585
- This document: https://www.portablelaw.com/provision/63c08153-2b8c-4224-8c40-d438d5d49585/md
- Constitution: https://www.portablelaw.com/countries/74eaac02-803e-4761-8caa-5c9300ba1956

## Verbatim text

````
was in the service of Paki stan shall, as from that day, continue in the
service of Pakistan on the same terms and conditions as were applicable to
him under the Interim Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
immediately before that day.
(2) Clause (1) shall also apply in  relation to a person hold ing
office immediately before the commencing day as —
(a) Chief Justice of Pakistan or other Judge of the Supreme
Court, or Chief Justice or other Judge of a High Court;
(b) Governor of a Province;
(c) Chief Minister of a Province;
CONSTITU TION OF PAKISTAN
173 (d) Spea ker or Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly or a
Provincial Assembly;
(e) Chief Election Commissioner;
(f) Attorney -General for Pakistan or Advocate -General for a
Province; and
(g) Auditor -General of Pakistan.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Const itution, for
a period of six months from the commencing day, a Federal Minister or a
Minister of State or the Chief Minister of a Province or a Provincial
Minister may be a person who is not a member of 1[Majlis -e-Shoora
(Parliament)] or, as the case may b e, the Provincial Assembly of that
Province; and such Chief Minister and Provincial Minister shall have the
right to speak and otherwise take part in the proceedings of the Provincial
Assembly or any committee thereof of which he may be named a member,
but shall not by virtue of this clause be entitled to vote.
(4) Any person who, under this Article, is continued in an
office in respect of which a form of oath is set out in the Third Schedule
shall, as soon as is practicable after the commencing day make b efore the
appropriate person oath in that form.
(5) Subject to the Constitution and law —
(a) all civil, criminal and revenue courts exercising jurisdiction
and functions immediately before the commencing day
shall, as from that day, continue to exercise thei r respective
jurisdictions and functions; and
(b) all authorities and all offices (whether judicial, executive,
revenue or ministerial) throughout Pakistan exercising
functions immediately before the commencing day shall, as
from that day, continue to exercis e their respective
functions.
276. Oath of first President
276. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Constitution, the first
President may, in the absence of the Chief Justice of Pakistan, make the
oath referred to in Article 42 before the Speaker o f the National Assembly.
1  See footnote 6 on page 3 , supra .
CONSTITU TION OF PAKISTAN
174 277. Transitional financial, provisions
277. (1) The schedule or authorized expenditure authenticated by
the President for the financial year ending on the thirtieth day of June, one
thousand nine hundred and seventy -four, shall continue to remain a valid
authority for expenditure from the Federal Consolidated Fund for that
year.
(2) The President may, in respect of expenditure of the Federal
Government for any financial year preceding the financial year
commencing on the first d ay of July, one thousand nine hundred and
seventy -three (being expenditure in excess of the authorized expenditure
for that year), authorize the withdrawal of moneys from the Federal
Consolidated Fund.
(3) The provisions of clauses (1) and (2) shall apply  to and in
relation to a Province, and for that purpose —
(a)  any reference in those provisions to the President shall be
read as a reference to the Governor of the Province;
(b) any reference in those provisions to the Federal
Government shall be read as a reference to the Government
of the Province; and
(c) any reference in those provisions to the Federal
Consolidated Fund shall be read as a reference to the
Provincial Consolidated Fund of the Province.
278. Accounts not audited before commencing day
278. The Auditor -General shall perform the same functions and exercise
the same powers in relation to accounts which have not been completed or
audited before the commencing day as. by virtue of the Constitution, he is
empowered to perform or exercise in relation  to other accounts, and
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## What this means (mechanical reading aid, not legal advice)

- The index files this text under article 240 of the Constitution of Pakistan.
- The index files it under the chapter heading “Chapter 1: of Part II shall not be abridged.”.
- The passage runs to about 675 words.
- Read plainly, it mentions assembly and association — it protects gathering together or joining a group, union or party (the words used: “Assembly”).
- **Caveat:** The row’s stored title is a body fragment, not a heading (“any person who, immediately before the commenc ing day,”), so it is not used as the provision’s title here.
- **Caveat:** The index gives this passage an article number but stores a body fragment where a heading would be, so the number could not be cross-checked against the text. Check it against the official Constitution before relying on it in a citation.
- **Caveat:** This index row contains 5 separately numbered sections, so it is a chapter-length passage rather than one provision. Cite the passage, and treat any single section number as unverified.

> This is a mechanical reading aid generated from the text above by matching words in it. It is not legal advice, not a lawyer’s interpretation, and not a substitute for the provision itself.

## How to cite this

Constitution of Pakistan, article 240, Portable Lawyer, https://www.portablelaw.com/provision/63c08153-2b8c-4224-8c40-d438d5d49585 (accessed 27 September 2026).

## Related

- [Constitution of Pakistan](https://www.portablelaw.com/countries/74eaac02-803e-4761-8caa-5c9300ba1956)
- [Pakistan on Portable Lawyer](https://www.portablelaw.com/countries/74eaac02-803e-4761-8caa-5c9300ba1956)
- [HTML version of this provision](https://www.portablelaw.com/provision/63c08153-2b8c-4224-8c40-d438d5d49585)
- [Machine-readable corpus digest](https://www.portablelaw.com/llms-full.txt)

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Portable Lawyer · Article 240 of the Constitution of Pakistan (chapter: “Chapter 1: of Part II shall not be abridged.”). was in the service of Paki stan shall, as from that day, continue in the service of Pakistan on the same terms and conditions as were applicable to him under the Interim…