No plans to change 18th amendment: Dar

While asserting a ruling party’s right to bring amendment to the Constitution with a two-thirds majority, Senator Ishaq Dar has clarified that the PML-N has no plans to change the 18th Constitutional Amendment that primarily deals with provincial autonomy.

“Reports about the 18th amendment are circulating in the media. It is claimed that the PML-N manifesto committee has been tasked to review the 18th amendment again, although no such mandate has been given to the manifesto committee,” Dar said on Tuesday.

The PML-N leader was speaking on the floor of the upper house of the parliament. According to some media reports, sources in the PML-N had confirmed that the party might make changes to the 18th Constitutional Amendment with key focus on reshaping the revenue distribution mechanism among provinces.

The news reports had sparked a debate and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had taken a jibe at the former ruling party for seeking changes to the 18th amendment in a rally on Monday. Dar pointed out that the manifesto committee chairman, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, and former minister of information Marriyum Aurangzeb has already clarified the party's position and rejected any such plans.

He referred to the Charter of Democracy, signed by the PPP and the PML-N in 2006 and stated that the charter included agreements on constitutional, judicial, and other reforms. Dar said although the PPP came into power in 2008, it was in 2010 that the 18th Amendment was approved after comprehensive work on the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and other issues.

“The amendment defined the share of provincial and federal governments and assigned various responsibilities to provinces which included human resource development in sectors health, education, skill development, water and sanitation and population welfare.

The senator expressed concern about the inefficiency in developing human resources, citing examples of challenges faced by various departments. "In the NFC award, the federal share was transferred to the provinces and the provincial share to the federal. What action is being taken on the things given to the provinces? Even today, the federal government holds health funds that should be given to the provinces," he said.

In a written response submitted in the house, Interim Foreign Minister Jaleel Abbas Jilani highlighted Pakistan's proactive engagement in addressing the concerns regarding the arrest of Pakistanis who go to Saudi Arabia on “azad” visa. He said Pakistan has raised this issue at a high diplomatic level with the Saudi Arabian authorities.

FM Jilani noted that individuals holding such visas often face arrests in Saudi Arabia, a matter that has been consistently brought to the attention of the Saudi foreign minister. He assured the Senate of efforts being undertaken to address and resolve this issue promptly.

Jilani also outlined plans to advocate for job opportunities for individuals travelling on work visas. He informed the senators that Saudi Arabia had issued 500,000 work visas to Pakistanis in 2022 and asserted that those who had obtained work visas for Saudi Arabia would be facilitated in securing employment within the country.

"In the light of these concerns, individuals who travelled to Saudi Arabia on work visas will be assisted in obtaining employment opportunities within the country," he affirmed.