‘Centre lacks awareness of Constitution’

Wrong to claim 18th Amendment obstructing anti-virus policy, states Rabbani

KARACHI: The problem with the federal government and its ministers is their lack of awareness about the Constitution and the rules of business, claimed former Senate chairperson and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Mian Raza Rabbani.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Rabbani said it was wrong that the 18th Amendment was posing an obstacle in formulating a policy for dealing with coronavirus.

Stating that the Centre had failed to build consensus with the provincial governments, he said that the government lacked political intellect.

He pointed out that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) should formulate the approved policies under Section 153 and 154 of the Constitution, but the federal government had replaced it with the National Coordination Committee and a sub-committee, the National Command and Operation Centre, during the ongoing crisis.

This, he insisted, would create confusion in federal policies.

Rabbani asserted that the impression given about the transfer of regulatory control of industries after the 18th Amendment was wrong because the industries did not fall in the Constitution's concurrent legislative list and hence were not devolved.

"It should be noted that the authorities of the federal government regarding industries have not changed since the 18th Amendment," he observed.

He further pointed out that CCI meetings should be held at least every 90 days as per the Constitution, but the 40th meeting was held in November, 2018, and the 41st in December, 2019, while it had now been 125 days since the last meeting. 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 3^rd, 2020.