KARACHI: Federal minister stresses provincial autonomy
KARACHI, Aug 6: Federal Minister for Inter-provincial Coordination Salim Saifullah has stressed the need for greater provincial autonomy, saying that the Centre should devolve more subjects to provinces and let them handle the same on their own.
“The Federal Divisible Pool should be divided equitably. We must fairly distribute resources equitably among ourselves and ensure provincial harmony. The government is working on devolving powers at local and provincial level. I also agree that the Concurrent List subjects should go to provinces,” he explained.
Addressing members of the English-Speaking Union of Pakistan here on Saturday evening, he said the first formal meeting of Council of Common Interest was likely to be held on August 17 to deal with a big agenda concerning the federation and provinces.
The minister said that the objective of the CCI was to resolve differences and remove misunderstanding between the federation and provinces, and also between one province and another.
He said the CCI, having equal representation of all provinces, had the same status as that of the federal cabinet but the CCI’s decisions could not be challenged in any court of law. However, in case of a dispute between the federation and provinces or between one province and another, the same could be settled by a joint session of parliament.
Salim Saifullah said that meetings of the Inter-provincial Coordination Committee and the federal cabinet would be held in all four provincial capitals. The IPCC also intended to hold a convention in Islamabad to which all Senators, MNAs and MPAs would be invited to debate all relevant issues.
About Balochistan, the minister said it was a ‘complex’ problem, and said that the government would restore its writ in limited Bugti and Marri tribal areas. “We are working on the implementation of the recommendations of Mushahid Hussain committee,” he added.
ARBAB: Sindh Chief Minister Dr Arbab Ghulam Rahim, while talking to Federal Minister Salim Saifullah at the CM’s House here on Sunday, said that inter-provincial harmony was the need of the hour, and noted that disputes between provinces were being resolved amicably under the leadership of President Pervez Musharraf.
Successive governments did not play any role in resolving inter-provincial disputes, but credit goes to President Musharraf who played a decisive role in settling the issues like distribution of water and the financial resources among provinces.
Dr Arbab said the province, which had to seek overdraft every year had now cleared all the debts and was in a position to present surplus budget. Currently, work on 233 development schemes in Sindh was under way, he added.—PPI
