Defence Minister Khawaja Asif on Wednesday reiterated his argument in favour of an empowered local government system, saying that the “dispersal of power actually multiplies power” and “concentration of power diminishes it”.

His fresh remarks come a day after he called for a “meaningful” constitutional amendment to introduce an empowered local government system in the country. During a speech in the National Assembly on Tuesday, he had also remarked that the 18th Amendment had proven to be a “farce” and had “concentrated all powers in provincial capitals”.

The debate in the lower House of Parliament was sparked during a discussion on the Gul Plaza inferno, with Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s Farooq Sattar calling for the creation of more administrative units for better governance in Karachi and strengthening local government systems.

Asif had endorsed Sattar’s views during the NA session.

On Wednesday, he said on X that “empowering local governments means taking the government to the common man’s doorstep”.

In such a scenario, he said, governments in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Quetta, and Peshawar would be accessible to 250 million people in the country.

He decried that the local government system had not been made functional despite the 18th Amendment — which has devolved several ministeries and departments to the provinces from the Centre but also requires them to further devolve powers to local governments.

The defence minister contended that when a local government system will become functional, “people will not be dependent on bureaucracy and will be able to elect empowered representatives and institutions through their vote”.

And the common man would be able to hold them accountable if they don’t deliver, he added.

He further stated that amenities such as water, sanitation, education and healthcare would be available to the people through the local government system, which would establish its own taxation system.

“There are countless examples of this in the world; to some extent, even the judicial system and police are under the authority of elected local governments,” he said, adding that “weak and local bodies do not deliver”.

“Politically, they cause damage, not benefit.”

The defence minister stressed that strengthening local bodies would help establish the authority of the people and strengthen and sustain the bond between the government and the people.

“Empower the people through local institutions. Do not keep these institutions subordinate to the bureaucracy.

“Dispersal of power actually multiplies power. Concentration of power diminishes it,” he said.

Constitutional amendments

The MQM-P has been calling for empowering local governments for long, and had also proposed that a provision to this effect be included in the 27th Constitutional Amendment, which was passed last year. It later blamed the PPP for opposing the proposal, saying that it was eventually withdrawn from the legislation.

The party has, however, claimed that its proposal will be included in the next constitutional amendment.

During his speech in the NA on Tuesday, Asif said: “The 18th Amendment has proved to be a farce. All powers have been concentrated in provincial capitals. There are no local governments, and where they do exist, they have no power.”

He supported the MQM-P’s demand for empowering the local government system, saying that given Karachi’s size, it was not humanly possible to manage it within the existing system.

“If we want to empower the people of Pakistan in a true sense, a local government system would have to be introduced,” he said.

He also recalled the initially proposed provision pertaining to local governments included in the 27th Amendment, saying that it had to be withdrawn due to “political wrangling”.

The defence minister also called for a uniform curriculum across the country, which he said was also proposed in the 27th Amendment. But the recommendation had to be “dropped as no agreement was reached” on it, he regretted.

Reiterating his demand for a local government system, he said, “This House will be meaningless unless the people are empowered.”

He said this country needed a system in which the people feel empowered, calling for constitutional amendments for the introduction of an empowered local government system and a uniform curriculum across the country.