ISLAMABAD: Politicians and economists discussing national issues here on Tuesday stressed that for harmony and good governance in the country, the provinces should be part of policy and decision making at the federal level.

They expressed the view at a conference on the Implementation of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Arranged by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE), in cooperation with the German foundation Friedrich-Ebert-Striftung (FES), the conference addressed the topics of Civil Service on Oil and Gas Resources while the Council of Common Interests and Education/Curriculum will be taken up later.

Senior research economist at PIDE Dr Muhammad Idrees Khawaja noted that ‘provincialisation’ in civil service was not part of the 18th Amendment, and said “without that the 18th Amendment is incomplete”.

He found the officials supplied to the provinces by the federal government, such as the IGP and the chief secretary, “contrary to the spirit of the 18th Amendment”.

Indeed, the chief minister should be free to select his/her own IGP or chief secretary, he said, pointing to the bad blood created between the federal government and the Sindh provincial government over the posting of IGPs, which led the latter to send the federal nominee on forced leave. And such clashes have a history.

Dr Khawaja wanted the provincialisation of civil service “without delay” for the provinces to select officials to suit their needs, and not tied to the choice of the federal government.

About the oil and gas resources, the economist said that though the 18th Amendment devolved these resources to the provinces, it is a subject of debate since Article 172(3) of the Constitution has different interpretations.

The article states that “subject to existing commitment and obligations, mineral oil and natural gas within the province or the territorial waters adjacent thereto shall vest jointly and equally in that province and the federal government.”

“It focuses on the equal distribution of revenues but it does not discuss joint decisions on the subject of oil and gas. It is, indeed, a bottleneck,” said Dr Khawaja.

“Federal and provincial governments have confronted each other many times because provinces want to be part of the decision-making process.

They have no say in the deals with exploration companies. This rests with federal government,” he noted.

Dr Khawaja asked for joint decision-making on this important issue.

The Ministry of Petroleum is run by the federal government but it should be a joint ministry between both parties.

PPP Senator Taj Haider, chair of Senate Committees on the Delegated Legislation Committee and the CPEC Project, supported his views and said the federal government failed to share with the provinces the revenues generated by oil and gas reserves.

Chairman of the Senate’s Functional Committee on the Devolution Process, Balochistan’s Senator Mir Kabeer Mohammad Shahi, reminded that Bangladesh emerged because of the reluctance of certain lobbies to share power.

“Nothing seems to have been learned from history,” he said.

Senator Shahi recalled that the provinces had no say in any ministry or decisions made until the 18th Amendment was introduced in April of 2010, giving hope to the deprived provinces.

“Under the amendment, 17 federal ministries were to be devolved to the provinces, but so far not even five percent of the amendment has been implemented,” he lamented.

Instead of fully devolving the 17 ministries to the provinces, the federal government has established 12 new ministries, he said, likening the act with the banned organisation reappearing under another name.

“Without giving due rights and devolving the power to provinces, there can never be a strong federation,” he declared.

Zafar Ullah Khan, executive director of the think tank Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Service, called achieving the implementation of the entire Constitution a “herculean task.”

“Indeed, the Green Book (the Constitution) has become a Grey Book,” he said. Actual devolution is a “work in progress.” He said that restoring the powers granted to the provinces will remedy many issues in Pakistan.

Two dictators have been defeated in the country, and now the path must be through parliament. The process of devolution must be expedited, overseen by a regulatory body.

Although it is a constitutional requirement to convene the Council of Common Interests every 90 days for the provinces to present their grievances to the federal government, the forum has met only rarely, he said.

Published in Dawn February 8th, 2017