{
  "id": 17563125,
  "title": "Broken record: constitution, commander, curfew.",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/01/broken-record-constitution-commander-curfew",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-01T08:00:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn",
    "slug": "dawn",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2040748/broken-record-constitution-commander-curfew"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Pakistan (Provisional Constitution) Order, a simplified adaptation of the Government of India Act, 1935, became the country's temporary constitution in 1947, marking a break from British rule and establishing constitutional supremacy. The new Constitution eliminated terms like \"in his discretion\" and \"exercising individual judgment,\" and reserved the power of appointment for the Governor-General, including provincial Governors and High Court Judges. The oath of office was to be sworn to the \"Pakistan Constitution and not to the Crown.\"\n\nDespite the Quaid's repeated appeals for peace, communal violence persisted in Pakistan. General Sir Frank Messervy, the country's first commander-in-chief, issued stern warnings in the September 1 issue, emphasizing the need for zero tolerance for lawbreakers and urging the military to hunt out and capture or shoot those stirring up trouble. The general further clarified that ignorant citizens and countrymen who became consumed by feelings of revenge were also considered enemies of the State.\n\nIn response to fuel shortages caused by unrest in East Punjab, the Government of Pakistan implemented petrol rationing on September 2, 1947, reducing the motor spirit ration from two gallons per unit to one gallon per unit. This decision aimed to conserve the limited fuel supply available. Furthermore, Karachi experienced its first curfew on September 4, 1947, to control rising communal violence. The curfew, enforced for three days under Section 144 CrPC, allowed only those with a curfew pass to move about freely. By September 5, the curfew had passed peacefully, with no incidents reported and businesses operating normally, except for the exodus of Sikhs and Hindu Marwaris to ports in Bombay due to fears in the Indian Union.",
  "summary": "The issues of Dawn from Sept 1-7, 1947 chronicled the adoption of the Pakistan (Provisional Constitution) Order as the country’s working constitution, while the nation’s first commander-in-chief issued a stern call for order to control communal violence. Moreover, the city of Karachi — which has been no stranger to violence over the decades — saw its first curfew as the capital of Pakistan.…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}