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This technical note was written by ASP consultant Dr Muhammad Ahsan Rana at the Lahore University of
Management Sciences to serve as basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective
handling of an administrative situation. This material may not be quoted, photocopied or reproduced in any
form without the prior written consent of the Lahore University of Management Sciences. This research was
made possible through support provided by the United States Agency for International Development. The
opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the US Agency
for International Development or the US Government.
2013 Lahore University of Management Sciences
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
It is said that the most significant clause of a constitution is its amending clause (Levinson
1995). Constitutions are living documents they evolve over time through various
amendments that enunciate collective decisions on key issues. The 18th
Amendment to the
Constitution of Pakistan, passed in April 2010, is one such historic amendment. It is
important, primarily, for three reasons. First, it restored the parliamentary character of the
Constitution of Pakistan by undoing several key changes made by military dictators, such as,
the powers of the President. Second, it redefined the parliament-judiciary relationship by
proposing parliamentary oversight on the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and
the High Courts. Third, it devolved many important functions to the provincial governments
by abolishing the Concurrent Legislative List in the Constitution and by amending the
Federal Legislative List.
Of particular importance is the devolution of responsibility and the authority to the provinces.
It provides the context in which the provincial governments are amending laws, establishing
new institutional frameworks, developing policies and strategies and building capacity to
effectively execute their newly acquired responsibilities. These provisions in the
Amendment, therefore, need to be examined in detail. However, implementing the
Amendment has been quite a challenge in the face of covert and overt opposition from the
federal bureaucracy, which is characteristically averse to any transfer of resources and
authority. For example, several functions of the Federal Ministries were dissolved in the
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aftermath of the Amendment but were assigned to other Federal Ministries instead of being
devolved to the provinces. A critical examination of the horizontal as well as vertical transfer
of such functions is needed to understand the nature and extent of the devolution of authority
under the Amendment.
This paper is a detailed examination of the 18th
Amendment, particularly of the devolution of
powers and functions to the provincial governments. It is divided into six sections. Section 2
provides a brief history of federalism in Pakistan. It discusses key provisions from the 1935
Act, the Constitution of 1956 and the Constitution of 1962, that defined federal-provincial
relations in Pakistan. Section 3 provides an overview of the 18th
Amendment. It briefly
examines the reduction of certain powers of the President, the new process for appointment
of judges, provisions regarding political parties, addition to fundamental rights, formation of
caretaker governments, etc. The enhanced role of the Council of Common Interests (CCI),abolition of the Concurrent List and changes to the Federal List and provisions regarding the
National Finance Commission (NFC) are discussed in detail in Section 4. Section 5 examines
the implementation challenge. Three sectors, viz. education, health and agriculture are
selected to examine how far the Federal Government has transferred various functions to the
Provincial Governments after the abolition of these ministries and in pursuance of the
Amendment. Section six concludes the paper.
HISTORY OF FEDERALISM IN PAKISTAN
At the time of the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, the Government of India Act of 19351
was adopted, with some amendments, as the interim constitution for the state of Pakistan.
The Act, which remained in force for the first nine years of Pakistans existence, provided a
federal governance framework2
1See Rizvi 2002 for text of various Constitutions.
and enunciated separate legislative powers for the federation
and its constituent units (called Governors Provinces). Sections 99 and 100 provided three
legislative lists, viz. the Federal List, the Concurrent List and the Provincial List. The
subjects listed as concurrent fell under the joint legislative control of the Federal and the
Provincial Governments. The Federal List had 59 items, the Concurrent List had 36 items
and the Provincial List had 54 items. The Act also provided for, sharing of tax revenues
between the federation and its constituent units. An Intra-Provincial Council was also created
2Section 5 of the amended 1935 Act
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under Section 135 to resolve disputes, if any, between the federation and provinces or
amongst the provinces themselves.
After nine years of deliberations and political negotiations, the Constituent Assembly finally
adopted a new Constitution in 1956. The 1956 Constitution also provided for a federal
parliamentary governance structure for Pakistan (Article 1). Article 43 created a unicameral
parliament and Article 44 specified the number of seats at 300. The Constitution recognised
the concept of One Unit3
and the seats in the parliament were equally divided between East
and West Pakistan, with 10 seats reserved for women. Article 106 divided subjects into three
legislative lists, viz. the Federal List (30 items), the Concurrent List (19 items) and the
Provincial List (93 items). Most of the items, with greater significance, were either in the
Federal List or in the Concurrent List (Rabbani, 2011). The Constitution created a National
Economic Council comprising of four federal ministers and three ministers from eachprovince. It also created a National Finance Commission (NFC) to make recommendations
regarding the distribution of resources between the federation and the provinces. However,
the commission could only make recommendations; they were not binding on the Federal
Government.
Despite its federal and democratic character, the 1956 Constitution had two important
centralising features; first, Article 109 specified that the residual powers, i.e. the power to
legislate on subjects not included in any of the three lists, will be vested in the Federal
Government. Second, Article 92 required the governors recommendation before introducing
a bill or amendment regarding a matter specified in a money bill or one that would involve
expenditure from the provincial revenue. Since the governor was a federal nominee, this
effectively constrained provincial authority to legislate freely. Further, there was no mention
of dispute resolution by an independent forum, such as the Inter-Provincial Council of the
1935 Act. Instead, the Constitution required the Chief Justice of Pakistan to mediate in case
there was a dispute between the two provinces or between the federation and the provinces.
The Constitution of 1956 had a short life, since martial law was imposed in October 1958.
Ayub Khan introduced a new Constitution in March 1962, which was a poor mix of the 1935
Act and the 1956 Constitution. Article 1of the new Constitution deleted the word Federal
3A new province with the name West Pakistan had been created in 1954 by merging Punjab, Sindh and NWFP,
and states and tribal areas of the Western Wing.
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from the name of the country4
and Article 70 created two separate assemblies for East and
West Pakistan, which were granted parity in all federal matters. The Constitution provided
for a unicameral federal legislature with 156 members equally divided between the two
provinces (six seats reserved for women). The 1962 Constitution provided only one list
(Third Schedule) containing 43 subjects on which the Central Government could exclusively
legislate. Article 132 vested the residual powers with the provinces.
Vesting residual powers in the provinces was an important step in decentralising authority
and responsibility, but two provisions of the Constitution effectively constrained provincial
authority. First, Article 131 empowered the Central Legislature to make laws in the national
interest of Pakistan on matters of national security, economic and financial stability, and
planning and coordination. This was an open-ended provision and created an allowance for
the Central Government to regulate even those matters that were not included in the CentralList. Second, Article 74 declared that in case of a conflict between the Governor (a federal
nominee) and a provincial assembly, where the conflict was decided in favour of the
Governor by the National Assembly, the Governor could dissolve the provincial assembly
with the consent of the President. Rather than referring the conflict to a non-partisan forum or
one comprising of representatives of both parties, the Central Government became a judge in
its own right. Further, the National Economic Council was to be nominated by the President,
with no specific provision for provincial representation.
The 1962 Constitution was immediately abrogated by the new military government when it
took over power in 1968. Elections were held in 1971 and the National Assembly took up the
task of framing a new constitution for the new Pakistan in 1972. The new Constitution
unanimously passed in April 1973 clearly enunciated the federal character of the state in its
preamble as well as in Article 1, which declared Pakistan a Federal Republic. It created a
bicameral Parliament, comprising of the National Assembly, Senate and the provincial
assemblies for each province. There were to be three tiers of government: federal, provincial
and local. The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution contained two lists: the Federal
Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List. The Federal List was divided into Part I
and Part II, which had 59 and 8 items respectively. The Concurrent List had 47 items and all
residual matters were deemed to be vested in the provinces. The provinces could legislate on
4 The word Islamic was also dropped, but it was brought back through the 1 st Amendment in 1963 and
Pakistan became Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
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OVERVIEW OF THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
The 18th
Amendment sought to comprehensively5
amend the Constitution. It not only
restored its parliamentary character but also resolved several other emerging issues, such as
the renaming of NWFP, appointment of judges and strengthening of certain key
constitutional offices. For the sake of convenience, various provisions of the Amendment can
be grouped together in five categories: 1) Restoration of parliamentary form of government;
2) Strengthening key institutions; 3) Appointment of judges; 4) Federation-provinces
relations; and 5) Miscellaneous (see Appendix Afor a summary). A brief discussion follows.
Restoration of the Parliamentary Form of Government
The 17th
Amendment had transferred several key functions to the President and had greatlyenhanced his powers vis a vis the parliament and its executive arm. Thus the President was
no longer a titular head, as originally envisaged by the 1973 Constitution. The 18th
Amendment repealed the 17th
Amendment in its entirety6
and also declared illegal the
various Legal Framework Orders of 2002. The Presidents powers were reduced in several
ways. For example, before the Amendment, the executive authority of the Federation was
vested in the President, who could exercise such authority, either directly or through officers
subordinate to him (Article 90). The amended Article clearly states that the executive
authority of the Federation is to be exercised by the Federal Government and that the Prime
Minister shall be the Chief Executive of the Federation. Rules of business are also to be
framed by the Federal Government and not the President. The power of the President to delay
the Assembly session after the elections and/or to appoint at his discretion a member of the
National Assembly as the Prime Minister (who in his opinion was likely to command the
confidence of the majority of members) was abolished. Now, the Assembly must meet 21
days after the elections and elect a Prime Minister, who the President must call upon to take
up the office of the Prime Minister.
Similarly, an amendment to Article 232 reduces the Presidents power to impose a state of
emergency in a province. Under the amended Article, a proclamation of emergency may be
issued only after a resolution to this effect has been passed by the concerned Provincial
5Hamid (2010) notes that the comprehensive nature of the Amendment was necessitated by the need to develop
consensus.6Though some provisions were reintroduced through the 18thAmendment.
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In a similar manner, provisions regarding the appointment and functioning of the Election
Commissioners have been amended to grant the office greater operational autonomy. The
term of office of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) has been increased from three
years to five years. Previously, the President could appoint the CEC at his discretion, but now
the Amendment prescribes a transparent procedure for the appointment. The amended Article
213 requires the Prime Minister to forward three names to a Parliamentary Committee after
consulting the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly. The Parliamentary
Committee is to be constituted by the Speaker. It comprises of at most twelve members
50% from the treasury and 50% from opposition parties-who are to be nominated by various
parliamentary party leaders in the Assembly, based, on their respective strength in the
Assembly. Thus, it is no longer the sole prerogative of the Federal Government or even the
Leader of the House and the opposition to make the appointment for one of the most
important offices in a democracy. The CEC must be chosen through a process of broad-basedconsultation in the Parliament.
Further, power and authority has been vested in the Election Commission, rather than the
CEC. The Election Commission comprises of five Commissioners, CEC being only one of
them. The other four must be a judge of the High Court from each province. It is now for the
Commission, instead of the CEC, to make rules for the appointment of officers and staff in
the employment of the Commission.
Appointment of Judges
The most contentious part of the 18th
Amendment was the one which dealt with the
appointment of judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts. This was mainly because the
superior judiciary had assumed this function to the exclusion of all other institutions through
a series of judgements, over the past two decades. A new Article (175A) was inserted in the
Constitution, which created a Judicial Commission of Pakistan for the appointment of judges
to the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court. The Commission was to
comprise of the Chief Justice of Pakistan and six other members two senior most judges of
the Supreme Court, a former Chief Justice or a former Judge of the Supreme Court
nominated by the Chief Justice in consultation with the two member judges, the Federal
Minister for Law and Justice, the Attorney General of Pakistan and a senior advocate
nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council. For the appointment of judges of a High Court, the
Commission was to have the following additional members: the Chief Justice of the
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concerned High Court, the senior most judge of the High Court, provincial Law Minister and
a senior advocate nominated by the concerned provincial Bar Council. Similarly, the Chief
Justice of the Federal Shariat Court and the senior most judge of the Shariat Court were also
made members of the Commission for appointments in the Shariat Court. Thus the
Commission had broad-based representation from the Government, the judiciary and the
legal fraternity. Under this Article, the President was required to appoint the most senior
judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of Pakistan. For all other vacancies in
superior judiciary, the Commission was to nominate one person for each vacancy to an 8-
member Parliamentary Committee (the Leader of the House and the Leader of Opposition to
nominate two members each from each House of the Parliament). The Parliamentary
Committee could either confirm the Commissions nomination against a vacancy within 14
days through a simple majority or reject the nomination with a three-fourth majority of its
total members.
For the broad-based Parliamentary Committee that drafted the 18th
Amendment and the
Parliamentarians who unanimously passed the Amendment, this comprised of a transparent
and objective process for the appointment of judges. The principle of seniority was accepted
in the appointment of the Chief Justice and for all other appointments. The nomination was to
originate from the Judicial Commission and finalised by the Parliamentary Committee
having representation from, the treasury and the opposition in both houses. While
parliamentary oversight was ensured, the requirement of three-fourth majority meant that the
Committee could not casually reject a nomination from the Commission.
However, not everyone was happy. Shortly after the 18th
Amendment was passed, a petition
was filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan challenging these portions of the Amendment on
the ground that this amounted to undermining judicial autonomy and altering the basic
structure of the Constitution (Hamid 2010). The Supreme Court passed an order in October
2010 highlighting the objections to the Amendment and referring the matter back to the
Parliament.
Consequently, another Amendment the 19th
Amendment was brought in to settle the issue
of the appointment of the judges, once and for all. The 19th
Amendment amended Articles
81, 175A, 182, 213 and 246 of the Constitution. Of greatest significance was the amendment
of Article 175A. Membership of the Judicial Commission was enhanced to include four most
senior judges of the Supreme Court instead of two previously. More importantly, the
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Parliamentary Committee was now required to hold its sessions on camera, record its reasons
for rejecting a nomination (with three-fourth majority of total membership) and pass on these
reasons to the Judicial Commission through the Prime Minister. In effect, this meant that
although the Parliamentary Committee could still object to a nomination from the
Commission, it was the Commission who got to finally decide whether such objections were
valid or not.
In addition to specifying a new process for the appointment of judges, the 18th
Amendment
had three other features that were important for the judicial system in Pakistan. First, the
Islamabad High Court was created through inserting a new clause in Article 175.Benches of
the Peshawar High Court and the Balochistan High Court were established at Mingora and
Turbat respectively, through an amendment of Article 198. Second, judges were protected
against involuntary transfers from one High Court to another. Previously, a High Court judgecould be transferred to another High Court without his consent and without the consent of the
involved Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and High Courts, if the period of transfer was
less than two years. A judge refusing such a transfer was deemed as retired from service.
These provisions were removed, meaning that a judge could only be transferred with his
consent and with the consent of the relevant Chief Justices. Third, certain protection has been
extended to the judges of the Federal Shariat Court who cannot be removed from office
except in the manner and on grounds as specified for a Supreme Court judge.
Miscellaneous
In addition to the above changes and the assigning of greater responsibility to the provinces
(discussed in the next Section), the 18th
Amendment brought several important changes in the
Constitution of Pakistan. These are discussed below.
The North Western Frontier Province was renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). This
was a long standing demand of the people of the province. At the same time, it triggered a
demand for the creation of a new province in KPK. Moreover, the spellings of Baluchistan
and Sind were changed to Balochistan and Sindh respectively.
The requirement for political parties to hold intra-party elections under Article 17 was done
away with. They are still required to hold these elections, but under an Act of the Parliament
(Political Parties Act of 1962), rather than under the Constitution. The ban on a person
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becoming the Prime Minister for a third term has also been removed. A new process has been
prescribed for the appointment of a caretaker Prime Minister and his cabinet. The caretaker
Prime Minister is to be appointed by the President in consultation with the outgoing Prime
Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. In case of a
disagreement between the two, the matter is referred to the CEC, who will then pick from
amongst the names proposed by the leaders of the past treasury and opposition.
Three new fundamental rights were created. Article 10A made fair trial and due process a
fundamental right of every citizen of Pakistan. This was done to ward off arbitrary trials and
victimisation of political opponents by military and civil governments. Article 19A made
access to information another fundamental right. Even on matters of national security (that
can be kept secret for a certain period of time), citizens should have the right to get access to
full information after a lapse, so that, an objective assessment of issues and decision can bemade. In pursuance of this Article, provincial governments are now legislating their own
Freedom of Information Acts.7
An important addition to fundamental rights is the right to education (Article 25A).
Although, providing education, especially to marginalised and the poor, has been a priority
for the federal and provincial governments, it was not an enforceable right per se. Article
25A renders it states responsibility to provide free and compulsory education to all children
in the 5-16 years age group. This fundamental right is being taken further, through provincial
legislations. For example, the Sindh Assembly recently passed the Right of Children to Free
and Compulsory Education Bill 2013. Similar draft legislation is being prepared by the
Punjab Government.
The definition of treason under Article 6 has been expanded to include, suspension and
holding in abeyance, the Constitution.8
7 Three provincial governments, viz. Punjab, Sindh and KPK are in the process of legislating Freedom of
Information within their respective jurisdictions. Punjab has a draft approved by the Cabinet to be presented in
the Assembly shortly. KPK and Sindh are developing their own Bills. How well will these be implemented is an
open question. Provinces face severe challenges due to culture of secrecy, poor record keeping and general
incapacity.
Further, conspiring, abetting and collaborating to
abrogate, subvert, suspend or hold in abeyance the Constitution was also made an offence of
equal measure under the said Article. A new clause (2A) was inserted to prohibit the
Supreme Court and High Courts to validate any such treasonous act. Whether or not any such
8Thus Musharrafs November 2007 action also attracted application of this Article.
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act is tried as treason is for time to tell, but at least the Constitution is now clear on the
matter.
The Sixth and Seventh Schedules to the Constitution have been abolished. The Sixth
Schedule contained a list of 35 laws, which could not be amended without prior approval of
the President. The list included laws on expressly provincial subjects, such as the local
government. This imposed a serious constrain on the provinces, who could not legislate
freely even in explicitly provincial matters. The Seventh Schedule contained a list of eight
laws, which could only be amended through the process prescribed for passing of a
Constitutional Amendment. After the abolition of the two Schedules, laws listed therein are
to be treated as any other law on the statute book.
DECENTRALISING RESPONSIBILITY AND AUTHORITY
A large portion of the 18th
Amendment dealt with federal-provincial relations and sought to
strengthen the position of the provinces within the federation of Pakistan. In addition to
transferring several functions to the provinces, the Amendment clarified/amended numerous
procedures in a manner so as to grant provinces a greater say in the running of the affairs of
the federation. A brief discussion of these provisions follows.
Changes to the Federal Legislative List
Perhaps the most notable changes were the ones made in the Fourth Schedule, which had two
legislative lists, viz. the Federal Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List. The
Federal List had two parts. Part I contained 59 items and Part II had eight items. Subjects in
Part I are the exclusive responsibility of the Federal Government, whereas subjects in Part II
are to be deliberated and decided upon jointly by the federation and provinces through the
Council of Common Interest (CCI). The 18th
Amendment made the following changes to the
Federal List:
Four items were transferred from Part I to Part II of the List. These included:major ports; census; extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a
provincial police force to other provinces; and national planning and economic
coordination.
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Four new items were added to Part II. These were: all regulatory authoritiesestablished under a federal law; supervision and management of public debt;
standards in institutions of higher education as well as research, scientific and
technical institutions; and inter-provincial coordination.
The following two items were shifted from the Concurrent List to Part II of theFederal List: electricity; legal, medical and other professions.
One item (Boilers) was shifted from the Concurrent List to the Federal List Part I. The following five items were deleted from the Federal List Part I: state lotteries;
duties regarding succession of properties; estate duty in respect to property;
capital gains; and general sales tax on services.
Thus, the modified Federal List is as follows: Part I - 51 items; and Part II - 18 items. It
should be noted that the expansion of Part II of the List has not come at the cost of the
Provincial List, but is a direct result of the shrinking of Part I and abolition of the Concurrent
List. Since Part II of the Federal List falls under shared responsibility of the federation and
the provinces, a transfer of subjects to this Part signifies an enhanced role for the provinces
even in matters that continue to be legitimately federal.
The amended Federal List Part I contains subjects that have a supra-provincial character.
Examples are: defence; military, naval and air force works; local self-government in
cantonment areas; external affairs, implementation of treaties and agreements; nationality,
citizenship and naturalisation; migration to and from Pakistan; posts and telegraphs;
currency; foreign exchange; nuclear energy; quarantine; copyrights; national highways;
federal surveys; the State Bank of Pakistan; federal institutions such as the Federal
Ombudsman and the Federal Public Services Commission; various institutions in the federal
territory; and federal taxation.
With the possible exception of the federal institutions listed above, institutions working
within the federal territory and federal taxation, all other subjects in Part I of the Federal List
ultimately concern the provinces. It is possible to make a case for the transfer of any number
of these subjects to Part II of the List, which would enable a greater provincial say in such
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subjects. To start with, local self-government in cantonment areas and posts and telegraph
appear to be good candidates for such further decentralisation of responsibility.
The amended Federal List Part II also contains subjects of importance. These are: railways;
mineral oil and natural gas; development of industries; federal corporations, industries and
projects; CCI; major ports; census; economic coordination; all regulatory authorities
established under a federal law; electricity; legal, medical and other professions; and inter-
provincial coordination.
Abolition of the Concurrent Legislative List
Another List in the Fourth Schedule was the Concurrent List, containing 47 subjects on
which the Federal Government as well as the provincial governments, could legislate.Political parties, especially nationalist parties from smaller provinces had consistently
demanded an abolition of this List and transfer of all subjects included therein to the
provinces. It was also widely believed that there was a verbal agreement amongst, the
framers of the Constitution in 1973, that the List would be abolished after ten years.
However, there was no written record of any such formal or informal agreement to this effect
(Rabbani 2011). The 18th
Amendment abolished the Concurrent List. As noted above, two
subjects were transferred to Part II of the Federal List and one subject was transferred to Part
I of the List. The remaining 44 subjects were automatically devolved to the provinces as
residual subjects.
The subjects that came to an exclusive provincial realm include the following: criminal law;
criminal procedure; civil procedure; evidence and oath; marriage and divorce; adoption;
bankruptcy; arbitration; contracts; transfer of property; preventive detention; arms and
firearms; explosives; opium; drugs and medicines; poisons and dangerous drugs; mental
illness; environmental illness and pollution; population planning and social welfare; labour
welfare; trade unions; shipping and navigation on inland waterways; newspaper, books and
printing presses; evacuee property; Islamic education; zakat; tourism; and auqaf.
This shows the extended sphere of provincial responsibility and authority. For provinces, it
meant two things. First, they were now required to legislate on these subjects, even if this
amounted to adopting, mutatis mutandis, the federal legislation. Hitherto, provinces had
mainly relied on the Federal Government for legislation, policy and regulation. But these
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subjects were no longer legitimate federal business; hence, the provinces had to frame their
own laws, rules and policies in these matters. Until this was done, Article 270AA (added
through the Amendment) provided for continuation of existing laws, regulations and
notifications to avoid a legal vacuum in the aftermath of the abolition of the Concurrent List.
Second, provinces had to develop the capacity to effectively discharge these newly acquired
responsibilities. Federal legislation had in most cases also created federal institutional
infrastructure, which now had to be either continued in the federation under another guise or
had to be established in the provinces. We will see several examples of both in the next
section.
Strengthening Provinces vis a vis the Federation
The provincial role in governance was enhanced in several ways. For example, Article 157was amended to require the Federal Government to consult the concerned Provincial
Government before taking a decision for constructing hydro-electric power stations in the
province. Further, any dispute in this matter could now be referred to CCI for resolution.
Similarly, a provision was added to Article 147 so that if a Provincial Government entrusted
to the Federal Government any of its functions, it had to seek ratification for such an act from
the Provincial Assembly within sixty days.
In the same spirit, CCI was strengthened by amending Articles 153 and 154, which dealt with
the composition and functions of the Council. Previously, the Council comprised of four
members from the Federal Government and the provincial Chief Ministers. It was chaired by
the Prime Minister, if he was a member, or by another Federal Minister who was a member
of the Council. The Amendment made the Prime Minister both a member and the Chairman.
Further, it was made compulsory for the Federal Government to constitute the Council within
thirty days of the Prime Minister taking the oath of office.
The composition of the National Economic Council was specified as comprising of the Prime
Minister, four members nominated by the Prime Minister, provincial Chief Ministers and
four members nominated by the Chief Ministers (one by each Chief Minister). The Prime
Minister was to act as the Chairman of the Council, and was entrusted with the responsibility
of reviewing the overall economic condition of the country and advise the Federal and
Provincial Governments on financial, economic and social policies.
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An important contribution of the 18th
Amendment was to strengthen the Senate and assign it
greater role in various matters. Since the Senate represents provincial assemblies in the
federal Parliament, its strengthening automatically translated into greater provincial say. For
example, under Article 91(4), the Cabinet was collectively responsible to the National
Assembly. An amendment in this Article made the Cabinet responsible to the National
Assembly as well as the Senate. Similarly, the President could previously issue an Ordinance
even when the Senate was in session. An amendment in Article 89 expressly prohibited the
issuance of an ordinance when either House of the Parliament was in session. Since
legislation could be initiated in either House, it was only logical to propose a piece of
legislation at once in the House that was in session, rather than adopting the ordinance route.
Further, the Senate was given equal representation in the Parliamentary Committee, which
was responsible for finalising the Judicial Commissions recommendations for the
appointment of judges. Both the treasury and the opposition were required to nominate twomembers from each House.
In several cases, even when recourse to the Senate was warranted under the 1973
Constitution, the matter was placed before a joint sitting of the Parliament. This effectively
meant a dissenting view from the Senate was subsumed under the numerical majority of the
National Assembly. The 18th
Amendment brought several changes which required such
matters to be placed before both Houses of the Parliament, separately. For example, the
Presidential proclamation of emergency was to be placed before each House for approval
within ten days of the proclamation. So was any order suspending a fundamental right during
an emergency under Article 233. Similarly, the National Economic Council was made
responsible to both Houses of the Parliament through insertion of a new clause to Article
156. Further, Articles 29, 153 and 171 were amended so that several important reports (e.g.
Report on the Principles of Policy; Report of CCI; and Report of the Auditor General of
Pakistan) were presented to both Houses, instead of just the National Assembly.
Enhanced Share in National Resources
Another important contribution of the 18th
Amendment was to recognise provinces as rightful
beneficiaries of their natural resources, but in collaboration with the Federal Government. An
amendment in Article 172 limited the ownership of the Federal Government to lands,
minerals and other things of value within the continental shelf or lying under the ocean,
beyondthe territorial waters of Pakistan. Thus, lands, minerals, etc. that lay within Pakistani
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territorial waters were left for provinces to explore, develop and exploit. Further, all new
discoveries of minerals, oil and natural gas within a province or in territorial waters adjacent
to a province were to be owned, jointly and equally, by the Federal and the Provincial
Government.
An important institution created by the 1973 Constitution was the National Finance
Commission (NFC). It had provincial representation and was responsible for resource
distribution between the Federal Government and the Provincial Governments. The 18th
Amendment strengthened provincial position vis a vis the NFC by declaring that the share of
a province in an NFC award will not be less than its share in the previous award (Article
160(3A)). It also required the NFC to present its report to both the Houses of the Parliament
and to the provincial assemblies.
A new clause was added to Article 161 so that the net proceeds of the federal excise duty on
oil levied at well-head(Collected by the Federal Government) went entirely to the provinces
in which the well-head was located, rather than forming a part of the Federal Consolidated
Fund. Previously, only the net proceeds of the excise duty on natural gas went to the
concerned province. Sales tax on services also became a provincial tax after its deletion from
the Federal List.
Subject to the oversight of the National Economic Council (in which provinces were
represented), provinces were allowed to raise loans and provide guarantees under Article
167. This fulfilled a long-standing provincial demand to raise loans from domestic or
international lenders against the security of the Provincial Consolidated Fund.
THE IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGE
From the above discussion it is evident that, the 18th
Amendment created the necessary
constitutional framework for administrative and fiscal devolution of responsibility, from the
federation to the provinces. The next challenge was its implementation, which was
problematic for two reasons. First, the federal (elected and unelected) administrative system
was quite averse to letting go of responsibility, as it ultimately meant loss of control over
human, physical and fiscal resources. It was quick to invent innovative interpretations of
various constitutional provisions as well as develop seemingly convincing justifications for
keeping at least the more important functions with the Federal Government. Several
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Ministries, instead of initiating an enabling legislation, referred their dissolution proposals
back to the Implementation Commission for review (Jamy et al. 2012). Second, there were
apprehensions about the capacity of provincial governments. They neither had the legal and
institutional infrastructure nor the human resource to effectively perform various functions, if
these were devolved. Even Provincial Governments (especially Balochistan) appreciated this
and were in some cases happy to let the Federal Government continue performing functions
as before.
Nevertheless, the momentum created by the 18th
Amendment was hard to resist. Ultimately,
18 federal Ministries were dissolved on, 1stJuly 2011, to give effect to various provisions of
the Amendment. Functions performed by the dissolved Ministries were assigned to different
federal Ministries (particularly to the four new Ministries created in October 2011), deleted
or transferred to the Provincial Governments. The Rules of Business were amendedaccordingly. The current position is summarised below:
Functions performed by dissolved Ministries 301
Functions assigned to other Ministries 207
Functions devolved to provinces 94
The data shows that less than 1/3rd
functions were actually devolved, which is not very
encouraging. In the following sub-sections, changes brought in pursuance of the 18th
Amendment are examined with respect to the Agriculture, Education and Health sectors.
Agriculture
In the 1973 Constitution, Agriculture was part of neither the Federal Legislative List nor the
Concurrent Legislative List, i.e. it was a residual subject and ipso facto the exclusive
responsibility of the provinces. And yet, there was a large Ministry of Food and Agriculture
in the Government of Pakistan, which immediately before its dissolution, was performing 39
different functions and had 12 attached departments/organisations. It had 7,020 employees, a
development budget of Rs 10.9 billion and was implementing 59 projects worth Rs 65.4
billion (Bakhshi et al. 2012). The Ministry strongly opposed its dissolution on the ground that
agriculture was central to Pakistans economy and was a significant contributor to exports.
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When it became clear that dissolution was inevitable, the Ministry proposed its re-
embodiment as the Ministry of Food Security and Research (Jamy et al. 2012). Accordingly,
a new Ministry of National Food Security and Research was created in October 2011.
Appendix B lists the now-dissolved Ministrys functions and departments and indicates their
current status.9
Summary statistics are as follows:
Functions:
Deleted 02
Transferred to other Ministries 26
Devolved to provinces 11
Attached departments/organisations:
Wound up 04
Transferred to other Ministries 07
Devolved to provinces 01
An examination of the functions and departments that were disposed of the Ministry of Food
and Agriculture, upon its dissolution in 2011, is illustrative in two ways. First, Agriculture
was a residual subject; there was no justification in the first place for the existence of the
Ministry of Food and Agriculture with such a large portfolio. This was clearly a historical
wrong and the 18th
Amendment provided an opportunity for correcting it. However, the
opportunity was missed and only two functions were deleted and only 11 were devolved to
the provinces. The rest were retained. It is difficult to understand why there was a need to
keep agricultural storage, seed testing and certification, agricultural research, grading, etc. in
the federal purview. It is also noteworthy that these functions were already being performed
by the provincial governments, in parallel, with the Federal Government. For example, the
9Cabinet Divisions Notification No. 4-14/2011-min-I; dated 26thOctober 2011
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Punjab Government had an elaborate agricultural research network under the Ayub
Agricultural Research Institute with a mandate similar to the one pursued by the Pakistan
Agricultural Research Council (retained by the Federal Government). Second, only four
attached departments/organisations were wound up (another one is in the process) and only
one was devolved to the provinces. The only one to be devolved the Soil Survey of
Pakistan was devolved to Punjab, since its offices were located in Lahore, which meant that
effectively none were devolved to the smaller provinces.
The case of seed testing and certification exemplifies the unwillingness of the federal
administrative system to devolve its functions and resources. This function is performed
under the Seed Act of 1976, which is a federal statute, passed after provincial assemblies
ceded their authority to the Federal Government under Article 144 of the Constitution
(Hussain 2004; Hussain and Hussain 2007). This was necessary, since the FederalGovernment could not legislate on seeds on its own, since Agriculture was a residual subject.
Under the Seed Act of 1976, the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department
(FSC&RD) was established to register new plant varieties and to regulate the seed business
in Pakistan. FSC&RD was based in Islamabad and had its field offices in the provinces,
which inter aliaprovided seed certification services to seed producers.
Over the years, several new developments in the seed provision system, especially the
emergence of the private seed sector as a major seed provider, necessitated amendments in
the Seed Act, 1976. But these could be made only after obtaining fresh authorisation from at
least two provinces in terms of Article 144 of the Constitution. Although provincial
governments, particularly the Punjab Government, appreciated the urgency to amend the
Seed Act of 1976, none provided the required authorisation despite some follow up from the
then Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
In the wake of the 18th
Amendment, it was only natural for the provincial governments to
expect that at least a function as mundane as seed testing and certification would be
devolved. Unfortunately, this did not happen and the Federal Government initially assigned it
to the Ministry of Science and Technology and subsequently to the newly created Ministry of
National Food Security and Research. FSC&RD was also transferred to the new Ministry.
But not all provinces were ready to accept this easily. The momentum created by the 18th
Amendment emboldened the Punjab Government to consider repealing the Seed Act of 1976
to the extent of Punjab and legislate for a new Punjab Seed Act instead. Accordingly, a draft
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Punjab Seed Act was prepared in 2011 and shared with stakeholders, including the
FSC&RD. The latter opposed it vehemently and instead asked the Punjab Government to
expedite ceding of legislative authority under Article 144 to bring the required amendments
in the Seed Act of 1976. So far the Punjab Government has not provided such authorisation
to the Federal Government, but it has not pursued its own legislation either.
The retention of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) by the Federal Government
presents a similar example. PCCC is responsible for conducting research on various aspects
of cotton production and manages a set of research stations in Punjab and Sindh. Since both
provinces had their own cotton research programs in fact, Punjab Governments equally
large Cotton Research Station was situated right across the road from PCCCs Cotton
Research Institute in Multan they expected PCCC to be devolved and its research outfits to
be shared between the two provinces. Instead, the Federal Government chose to retain PCCC,which was assigned to the Ministry of Textiles upon dissolution of the Ministry of Food and
Agriculture.
Education
The 18th
Amendment brought several important changes to the Constitution that had a direct
bearing on education provision in Pakistan. Perhaps the most significant was the insertion of
Article 25A, which created education as a fundamental right and required the state to provide
free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of five to sixteen years.
Implementation of this fundamental right requires that the Federal and Provincial
Governments establish the necessary legislative and institutional framework for their
respective areas of jurisdiction. As mentioned above, the Sindh Government has enacted a
new law to this effect and a similar draft Bill is under consideration of the Punjab
Government.
Further, the abolition of the Concurrent List brought the following two subjects in the
exclusive provincial realm:
Curriculum, syllabus, planning, policy, centres of excellence and standards ofeducation
Islamic education
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Previously, setting of national curriculum and syllabus was the responsibility of the
Curriculum Wing of the (now dissolved) Ministry of Education. The wing was established
under the Federal Supervision of Curricula, Textbooks and Maintenance of Standards of
Education Act of 1976. To support the federal Curriculum Wing, each province had also
established Curriculum Bureaus. Now the Wing has been dissolved and the responsibility of
setting up Curriculum has completely fallen upon the provinces. For the time being, none of
the provinces have deviated from the Curriculum, which was last revised in 2007-08. But, it
is only a matter of time that provincial Curriculum Bureaus will start modifying them to suit
their own educational needs.
The following three additions to the Federal List Part II are also important for education
provision:
All regulatory authorities established under a federal law Standards in institutions of higher education and research Scientific and technical institutions
The aftermath of the passing of the 18th
Amendment saw considerable confusion and struggle
over the ultimate fate of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Since education including higher education is a provincial subject, provinces demanded devolution of the
Commission to the provinces. But the Federal Government opted to retain it (at least until the
expiry of the current NFC Award), as it was responsible for setting the standards for higher
education including equivalence and accreditation.
The table below, historically places, the recent changes to the Federal and the Concurrent
Lists with respect to education.
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Table 1
Status of Education Policy, Planning and Curriculum in Various Constitutions
Subject Government
of India Act,
1935
1956
Constitution
1962
Constitution
1973 Constitution
Before
Amendment
After the
18th
Amendment
Right to
education
Recognised
but not
justiciable
Recognised
but not
justiciable
Recognised
but not
justiciable
Recognised
but not
justiciable
Justiciable
right
Education
policy and
planning
Provincial
Legislative
List
Provincial
Legislative
List
Provincial
Legislative
List
Concurrent
Legislative
List
Provincial
subject
Curriculum Provincial
Legislative
List
Provincial
Legislative
List
Provincial
Legislative
List
Concurrent
Legislative
List
Provincial
subject
Standards in
higher
education
Provincial
Legislative
List
Provincial
Legislative
List
Provincial
Legislative
List
Concurrent
Legislative
List
Federal List
Part II
Source:Report of Syndicate 4 (9thSMC), National Management College cited in Jamy
et al. 2012
The dissolution of the Ministry of Education in 2011 was soon followed by the creation of
the Ministry of Education and Training. The new Ministry was responsible for, inter alia,
establishing and managing educational institutions within federal territories, international
conventions and agreements regarding, education, achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDG), and technical and vocational training.
At the time of its dissolution, the Ministry of Education administered 17 subordinate
organisations, two attached departments, six autonomous organisations and 14 chairs in
foreign universities. An examination of the functions and departments assigned to various
Ministries and devolved to provinces is interesting. It shows that the new Ministry is almost
as large as its predecessor, as only four departments/organisations have been devolved. The
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Prevention of extension of contagious and infectious diseases from one provinceto another
Mental illness and mental retardationOver the years, the Ministry of Health launched several vertical programs, which further
extended Federal Governments outreach in primary and tertiary healthcare.
Abolition of the Concurrent List brought the above-mentioned subjects under the exclusive
purview of provincial governments. Further, the inclusion in the Federal List Part II of
regulatory authorities, established under a federal law the planning and coordination of
scientific and technical research, and legal, medical and other professions enhanced
provincial responsibility. This was because these subjects were now under shared
responsibility of the federation and provinces.
At the time of its dissolution, the Ministry of Health was responsible for performing 15
functions and administered 22 attached departments/organisations. Appendix C provides the
post-Amendment status of these functions and departments/organisations after the Ministrys
dissolution in 2011. A summary is presented below. The Federal Government also
transferred vertical program and provided Rs 15 billion to the provinces for managing these
programs (Jamy et al. 2012).
Functions:
Assigned to other Ministries 12
Devolved to provinces 03
Departments/organisations:
Wound up or merged 03
Assigned to other Ministries 15
Devolved to provinces 04
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From the above data, it is evident that only 1/5th
functions and about 1/3rd federal
departments were actually devolved to the provinces (or wound up). It is noteworthy that the
dissolved Ministry of Health did not reappear as another Ministry like the Ministries of
Agriculture and Education. Its functions and departments were, therefore, spread more
widely. Considering the national importance of health, Pakistans international commitments
and the existence of several health-related entries in the Federal List Part II, the need to
establish an institutional hub in the Federal Government for all health-related functions has
been suggested by several commentators (e.g. Nishtar 2011).
Conclusion
From the above discussion it is clear that the 18th
Amendment was a milestone in the
constitutional history of Pakistan. It not only restored the parliamentary character of theConstitution by returning to the Prime Minister his Cabinet functions and powers that had
been usurped by military Presidents (over the past four decades), but also made important
contributions in enhancing fundamental rights, strengthening institutions and specifying
procedure for the appointment of judges. Although, appointment of the judges became
controversial immediately after the Amendment was passed and the procedure had to be
partially modified in line with directions from the Supreme Court, it was a milestone in
settling (at least for the time being) the contentious issue of appointments in superior
judiciary. Its most important contribution, however, was to strengthen the provinces in the
federation by abolishing the Concurrent Legislative List, enlarging the Federal List Part II,
strengthening the CCI, reducing the powers of provincial Governors and enhancing powers
of the Senate. Devolution of functions to the provinces and giving them greater role in
running federal affairs was indeed a major step in correcting the historical imbalance in
federal-provincial relations. It is remarkable that the Parliamentary Panel constituted to draft
the Amendment was able to develop a political consensus on such a wide range of
constitutional issues and get it through the Parliament unanimously.
Implementation, however, proved problematic. Federal Ministries identified for dissolution
went back to the Implementation Committee and made a case for their re-embodiment under
a different title or at least the assignment of most of their functions to other Ministries in the
Federal Government. These efforts were largely successful and eventually less than 1/3rd
functions and departments of dissolved Ministries were actually devolved to the provinces
(Section 5). An examination of the reassigned functions of the dissolved Ministries showed
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Appendix A (p1 of 4)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Summary of Major Changes Brought About by the 18th Amendment
Changes to the Constitution brought about by the 18th
Amendment can be grouped in the
following five categories: 1) restoration of parliamentary form of government; 2)
strengthening key institutions; 3) appointment of judges; 4) federation-provinces relations;
and 5) miscellaneous. A summary of changes in each group is presented below.
1) Restoration of the Parliamentary Form of Government The presidents powers were substantially reduced. All Musharraf-specific
provisions were deleted. The presidents powers to dissolve Assemblies or to refer
a question to a Referendum were abolished. The president was to appoint
Governors and other key personnel on the binding advice of the Prime Minister.
Similar to the reduction in the powers of the President, powers of provincialGovernors were also curtailed.
Executive authority in the Federation was to be vested in the Prime Minister,rather than the President. Rules of Business were also to be framed by the Federal
Government.
Sixth and Seventh Schedules were deleted. Sixth Schedule listed laws that couldbe amended only after prior approval by the President and Seventh Schedule
listed laws whose amendment required the same procedure as was required for
amending the Constitution.
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Appendix A (p3 of 4)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
4) Federation-Provinces Relations Emergency in a province was to be imposed only with the consent of the
concerned provincial assembly.
The Concurrent Legislative List was abolished. Thus all items included therein,except the ones shifted to the Federal List, were transferred to the provinces.
Several items were shifted from the Federal List Part I and the Concurrent List toFederal List Part II, thereby making these items subject to shared federal-
provincial responsibility in the Council of Common Interests.
Share in net proceeds of royalty on crude oil and net proceeds of developmentsurcharge on natural gas was to be given to the provinces.
Sales tax on services was devolved to the provinces.5) Miscellaneous
NWFP was renamed as KPK. The definition of high treason was expanded to include an act of suspending the
Constitution or holding it in abeyance.
Three new fundamental rights were created. These were: 1) right to fair trial; 2)right to information; and 3) right to education.
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Appendix A (p4 of 4)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Article 17 was amended to do away with intra-party elections on the grounds thatthese were already provided in the Political Parties Act of 1962.
Life time bar on holding political office in case of conviction by a court wasremoved and limit of 5 years from the date of release from jail was reintroduced.
The restriction that a person could not hold the office of the Prime Minister or theChief Minister for more than two terms was removed.
Size of the cabinet was specified as 11% of the total membership or 49,whichever was higher. Similar restrictions were imposed for provincial cabinets.
Provisions were made and procedure was specified for appointment of a caretakergovernment upon the expiry of the term of a government.
Source: Authors Own Work
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Appendix B (p1 of 5)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Status of Functions and Departments of Erstwhile Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Functions
No. FunctionDeleted/ assigned/
devolved
1 Sugar Board Deleted
2Socio-economic studies for framing agricultural research
policiesDeleted
3 Economic Coordination and planning in respect of foodMinistry of National Food
Security and Research
4Economic Planning and policy-making in respect of
agriculture
Planning and Development
Division
5
Procurement of food grains, including import of sugar for
federal requirement; inter-provincial supplies; and for
export and storage at ports
Ministry of Commerce
6 Import and export control on food grains and foodstuffs
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
7
Inspection, grading analysis of food grains and foodstuffs
and maintenance of standards of quality for import and
export
Ministry of Commerce
8
Plant protection:- (a) standardisation and import of
pesticides; (b) aerial spray; (c) plant quarantine; and (d)
locust control in its international aspect and maintenance
of locust warning organisations
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
9Grading of agricultural commodities other than food
grains, for exportsMinistry of Commerce
10Standardisation and import of fertilizers for meeting
Provincial requirements
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
11Administrative control of the Pakistan Agricultural
Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO)
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
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Appendix B (p2 of 5)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
12Keeping watch over the food supplies (including storage)
position in the country
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
13 Collection of statistics on agricultural research. Federal Bureau of Statistics
14 Collection and compilation of agricultural statistics Federal Bureau of Statistics
15Collection of statistics regarding production, consumption,
prices, imports and exports of food grains
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
16Preparation of basic plan for bulk allocation of food grains
and food-stuffs
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
17
Price stabilisation by fixing procurement and issue prices
including keeping a watch over the price of food grains
and foodstuffs imported from abroad or required for export
and those required for inter-Provincial supplies
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
18Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
in respect of food
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
19Coordination of work relating to aid/assistance being
received from aid-giving agencies in respect of food sector
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
20Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
in respect of agriculture
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
21
Coordination of work relating to aid/assistance being
received from aid-giving agencies in respect of agriculture
sector
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
22
Coordination of aid/assistance from international aid-
giving agencies and FAO in respect of agricultural
research, including manpower training for research
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
23Agricultural Research Council: Agricultural commodities
research
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
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Appendix B (p3 of 5)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
24Seed testing and seed certification Ministry of National Food
Security and Research25
Agricultural commodities research; Federal Agricultural
Research Organisations.
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
26Research for the introduction of improved germ plasma
both of plant and animal origin.
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
27
Inter-provincial coordination and coordination between the
centre and the provinces in respect of agricultural research,including training of high level agriculture scientists.
Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
28
Administrative control of Pakistan Central Cotton
Committee with participation and inputs of Textile
Industry Division
Ministry of Textile
Industry
29 Economic Studies for framing agriculture policy Devolved
30Farm management research for planning project
formulation and evaluationDevolved
31 Crops forecast and estimation; crop insurance Devolved32 Marketing intelligence Devolved
33Agricultural commodity research (marketing research and
laboratory research for laying down national grades)Devolved
34Soil survey, comprehensive inventory of the soil resources
of the country and their proper utilisationDevolved
35 Introduction of special crops like jute, tea, olive etc. Devolved
36 Standardisation of agricultural machinery Devolved
37
Under-developed Areas including: identification of under-developed areas; and the fields in which an area is under-
developed; and measures necessary to remove the causes
of under-development in different areas.
Devolved
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Appendix B (p5 of 5)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
10 Pakistan Agricultural Research Council
Assigned to the Ministry of
National Food Security and
Research
11 Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, MultanAssigned to the Ministry of
Textile Industry
12 Soil Survey of Pakistan, LahoreDevolved to the
Government of Punjab
Source: Authors Own Work
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Appendix C (p1 of 3)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
Status of Functions and Departments of Erstwhile Ministry of Health Functions
Sr.
No.Functions
Deleted/ devolved/
assigned
1 National Planning and Coordination in the field of HealthPlanning and
Developmrnt Division
2
Dealings and agreements with other countries and international
organisations in the fields of health, drug and medical facilities
abroad
Economic Affairs
Division
3
International aspects of medical facilities and public health:
International Health Regulations: Port health; health and medical
facilities abroad
Devolved
4Scholarships/fellowships, training courses in health from
international Agencies such W.H.O. and UNICEF
Economic Affairs
Division
5Medical, nursing, dental, pharmaceutical, paramedical and allied
subjects
Devolved, except to the
extent of Federal Areas
6
Maintenance of educational standards education abroad andeducational facilities for backward areas and for foreign
nationals, except the nomination of candidates form Federally
Administration Tribal Areas for admission to Medical College
IPC Division
7Standardisation and manufacture of biological and
pharmaceutical products
Drug Regulatory
Authority
8 Vital Health StatisticsFederal Bureau of
Statistics
9 Medical and health services for Federal Government employees CADD
10 National Associations in medical and allied field such as the RedCrescent Society and T.B. Association
IPC Division
11Red Crescent Society and T.B. Association. Red Crescent Society
and T.B.
Red Crescent Society
and TB Association
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Appendix C (p3 of 3)
CONTEXTUALISING ADMINISTRATIVE AND FISCAL DECENTRALISATION:
THE 18TH CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
16 National Institute of Child Health, Karachi Government of Sindh
17 Directorate of Central Health Establishment, Karachi IPC Division
18 National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi Government of Sindh
19 Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zaid Hospital, QuettaGovernment of
Balochistan
20 Tobacco Control Cell N/A
21 Vertical Programmes To Provinces
22 National Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Network Cabinet Division
CADD: Capital Admisnistration and Development Division
IPC : Inter Provincial Coordination Division
Source: Authors Own Work
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List of References:
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