18th Amendment: Study group to facilitate devolution process

Aims to assist centre, provinces in managing transition

ISLAMABAD:

The National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (NIHCR) at Quaid-e-Azam University (QAU) on Monday launched the Pakistan Study Group on Federalism in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The study group aims to facilitate and work for participatory federalism and decentralisation in Pakistan. It will add to the academic and technical body of knowledge aimed to facilitate and inform the process of transition management with regard to the 18th Constitutional Amendment.



UNDP Country Director Marc-André Franche said the UNDP and Pakistan Study Group would serve as a building block for effective transition management in Pakistan. He said every federation was different from others. The practices of Canada, for example, could not be implemented in Pakistan, he said, explaining that, “Both have different cultures, social norms, values and histories, so a readymade solution cannot be fruitful for Pakistan.”

He said the core objective of this collaboration was to conduct research for the Council of Common Interest (CCI) Secretariat and interprovincial coordination (IPC) departments.

The group will share knowledge with federal and provincial governments, political parties, policy and parliamentary forums, civil society, media and the academia. It will also raise public awareness of federalism and decentralisation through lectures and seminars.

Dr Sania Nishtar, who was the health minister during the caretaker set-up, said the 18th Amendment had ushered in the true spirit of federalism in Pakistan.

NIHCR Director Dr Sajid Mehmood Awan said the 18th  Amendment had introduced radical reforms by giving unprecedented autonomy to provinces in legislative, fiscal and administrative domains.

“However, the implementation and institutionalisation of decentralisation faces significant challenges in a state which has a strong legacy of a dominant centre,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 28^th, 2014.