Provincial autonomy 'must remain free from interference', nothing in 'black and white' on 28th amendment yet: PPP

ISLAMABAD: PPP Secretary General Nayyar Bokhari asserted on Sunday that provincial autonomy “must remain free from interference”.

He said this in a statement, in which he also referred to a proposed 28th constitutional amendment — a possible constitutional package about which PPP insiders have expressed fear that it could deal a serious blow to the financial autonomy and powers over certain key portfolios that were devolved to the provinces after 2010 under the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

The 18th Amendment, passed under the PPP-led government in 2010, was a landmark legislation in the country’s constitutional scheme, as it devolved powers to the provinces in key areas of public services, including health, women’s development, social welfare and local government.

Under the amendment, the provinces’ share of federal resources was set at 57.5 per cent. Calls for a review of the 18th Amendment have been made several times in the past, and have come from different sides of the political spectrum.

There have been reports of an amendment being considered to roll back the 18th Amendment in recent days as well, but nothing has been said with complete certainty by anyone from the ruling PML-N, of which the PPP is an ally in the Centre.

In his statement, Bokhari said nothing had been “presented in black and white” regarding the proposed 28th constitutional amendment so far.

“The issue of the National Finance Commission has been raised under the 28th Amendment. The provinces resolved the matter themselves and provided funds to the federation from their own resources,” he said, seemingly referring to a recent arrangement under which the government has decided to freeze development allocations for the provinces for three years to generate more than Rs900 billion in additional resources for the Centre’s strategic needs ahead of the FY2026-27 budget.

Bokhari said that while the PPP had supported the PML-N in budget formulation, the politics of both parties “remain separate”.

He also referred to a statement by PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, saying it was issued “keeping ground realities in view”.

While Bokhari did not specify which statement he was referring to, Bilawal recently hit out at the PML-N over the delay in holding local government polls in Punjab and Islamabad and accused it of attempting to create differences between the PPP and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) on the issue.

Speaking in the National Assembly on the final day of the budget session earlier this week, he also challenged the PML-N to hold local government elections in Islamabad and Lahore within 90 days.

For his part, Bokhari stressed that the public should be given their rights through local government elections.

He added that the “PPP won the local government elections in Karachi with public support”. On the other hand, he continued, the “MQM did not even participate, and Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) would have had a right to the mayorship only if the people had voted for them”.

He urged the MQM-P and JI to show patience and allow the local government system to function in Karachi.

“PPP is a democratic party and considers it a responsibility to highlight public issues,” Bokhari said.