Pakistan's missing tier of governance

Pakistan has spent decades debating how to make government more responsive to citizens, a debate that has gained renewed attention with recent calls for smaller provinces. Yet one of the most important pieces of that puzzle remains largely neglected: local government.

The country has repeatedly created local institutions, only to weaken, restructure or dissolve them. The result is a system in which political power remains concentrated at the federal and provincial levels, while citizens often lack access to responsive institutions capable of meeting their needs.

The 18th Constitutional Amendment of 2010 was an important step toward decentralisation. Yet while substantial powers were transferred from the federal government to the provinces, devolution largely stopped there. Provincial governments remained reluctant to transfer meaningful authority to elected local institutions.

The Constitution acknowledges local governance but does not stipulate how to make it work. Pakistan needs minimum national standards governing local elections, institutional continuity, functions, accountability and fiscal autonomy, while allowing provinces flexibility to reflect their different circumstances. Local elections should also be protected from arbitrary delays through clear constitutional timelines.

Local governments cannot be expected to provide services while remaining dependent on provincial discretion for funding. Transfers should be predictable, transparent, and based on formulas that account not only for population but also poverty, development needs, geography, infrastructure deficits, and the costs of delivering services. Stronger Provincial Finance Commissions could help establish this financial foundation.

Authority must be accompanied by capacity. Devolving responsibilities without providing trained personnel, administrative expertise and effective accountability merely transfers responsibility without the ability to deliver. Pakistan should develop a professional local government administrative service and clearly distinguish the responsibilities of elected representatives from those of the bureaucracy.

The problem is particularly acute in Pakistan's rapidly expanding cities. Karachi, Lahore and other urban centres require governments capable of coordinating land use, infrastructure, transport, water, sanitation and waste management. Empowered metropolitan governments, led by elected mayors with clearly defined powers and adequate resources, would make urban governance more coherent and accountable.

This matters for democratic consolidation. Local institutions can create pathways for political leadership, broaden participation beyond established elites, and make elected representatives accountable to residents. They can also address patronage networks that flourish when local development decisions are controlled by provincial politicians and bureaucracies.

Political parties should engage with local elections rather than treating councils as extensions of provincial governments. Local representatives need authority over planning, budgeting, procurement and implementation, alongside auditing and citizen monitoring. Without these reforms, Pakistan's version of decentralisation would essentially be no more than provincialisation, with power moved downward from Islamabad but unable to reach people.

Devolution must be accompanied by citizen oversight. Complaint mechanisms, digital platforms, public reporting and participatory monitoring can allow citizens to assess whether local governments are delivering services. Technology, including AI and geographic information systems, can improve planning and identify service gaps, but it should strengthen rather than bypass local institutions.

What Pakistan needs is political commitment to making local government a permanent and genuinely empowered tier of the state. Devolution should not end at the provincial level. It should reach the lowest tiers of governance where citizens can interact with governance structures and help make them more accountable and effective.