Constitution 1973 § Article 18 — Freedom of trade, business or profession

Statutory text (English)

Subject to such qualifications, if any, as may
be prescribed by law, every citizen shall have the right to enter upon any lawful profession or
occupation, and to conduct any lawful trade or business:

Provided that nothing in this Article shall prevent—
(a) the regulation of any trade or profession by a licensing system; or
(b) the regulation of trade, commerce or industry in the interest of free competition
therein; or
(c) the carrying on, by the Federal Government or a Provincial Government, or by
a corporation controlled by any such Government, of any trade, business,
industry or service, to the exclusion, complete or partial, of other persons.

Source and verification

Source citation: Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, Art. 18: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN' (incl. 26th Amdt Act 2024 & 27th Amdt Act 2025), p. 24, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

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• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 24) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment version…

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