March 13; 18th Amendment is a landmark constitutional amendment which has empowered the provinces, said the Acting Governor Balochistan, Honourable Mir Muhammad Jan Jamali, MPA, while addressing the two day Workshop on Consolidating Democratic Devolution in Pakistan after the 18th Amendment at Karachi. He thanked the Members of the Provincial Assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan for attending the Workshop and also appreciated the role of PILDAT in organizing this timely workshop for the provincial legislators.

He said that PILDAT�s long term contribution and efforts in strengthening democracy and democratic institutions are laudable.

Prof. Dr. Syed Jaffar Ahmad, Director Pakistan Study Centre, University of Karachi, briefed the participants on the historical evolution of Pakistan and said that Pakistan's federalism has evolved over a long period. It has passed through different phases and has moved ahead through a series of trials and errors. It has eventually come to a point where one can say with some confidence that if it is operated both in letter and spirit, it could result in a successful and viable federalism.

Dr. Leslie Seidle, Senior Program Adviser, Forum of Federations (FoF), gave a thorough presentation on the concept of Federation and the Inter Governmental Relations in Federal Systems. He highlighted Cooperative Federalism, Inter Governmental Institutions and processes and Inter Governmental Agreements. He believed that Pakistan�s federal institutions are peak-level institutions and have untapped potential. He shared that the handbook prepared by FoF must be seen as a resource tool and as a work in progress; it is not a prescriptive handbook and doesn�t tell any country on how to do federalism; he also believed that there are hiccups and issues of implementation in every federal system and it may take Pakistan decades to work out and fully implement the 18th amendment; part of this trajectory may also include changes in text and readjustments. In terms of the debate on where does the money go in provinces, he shared the Canadian example where the Federal Government has at times provided conditional grants to provinces with 50/50 funding on social assistance programmes. Many Federal countries, such as Canada, keep subjects such as Drug Authority at the Central level.

Mr. Ahmad M. Zahid, Former Federal Secretary, Ministry Inter Provincial Coordination, said that lack of implementation is the biggest malaise facing Pakistan. An overly centrist mindset poses the biggest challenge to implementing the devolution processes effectively. He said that a bottom to top approach needs to be adopted in preparation of national plans of the devolved subjects. He believed that a middle ground and managing of expectations needs to be carried out in the two opposing mindsets of too soon-too much vs too late and too little. The urge to retain powers/assets and (Mis)perceptions about administrative capacity of Provinces and purported financial constraints remain the key challenges in effective implementation of the 18th Amendment.

Ms. Aasiya Riaz, Joint Director PILDAT extended a special warm welcome to the Honourable Chief Guest, Mir Muhammad Jan Jamli, Speaker Balochistan Assembly, for being gracious to accept the invitation said that the Honourable Speaker has always been a source of strength for PILDAT in reaching out to Honourable MPAs and to organise workshops. She also welcomed the Honourable Members of the Provincial Assemblies of Balochistan and Sindh who, despite their numerous engagements in their constituencies and relating to the Assembly business, have taken the time out to participate in today�s workshop. She said that the objective of these workshops is what is depicted in their title � Consolidation of Democratic Devolution. This is an effort to understand the issues which still remain post 18th amendment and try to analyse and suggest ways to address them learning from International experiences. PILDAT is delighted to partner with the Forum in organizing these workshops. Forum of Federations is probably the most dynamic and focussed inter-governmental entity in the world working for the consolidation of federalism around the globe. She hoped that all the resources provided in the Workshop will be helpful to the Public Representatives in better understanding the context and issues of Federalism in Pakistan and in the discharge of their duties.

Earlier Mr. Phillip Gonzalez, Program Manager, Forum of Federations, informed that the FoF supports better governance through learning among experts. It is supported by partner countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ethiopia, Germany, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and Switzerland.

The participants who joined the Workshop from Balochistan Assembly included Honourable Engr. Zmarak Khan, MPA (PB-12 Killa Abdullah-II,ANP), Honourable Mrs.? Husan Bano, MPA (PBW-61,JUI-F), Dr. Shama Ishaq, MPA (PBW-59,NP), Honourable Mr. Syed Muhammad Raza, MPA (PB-2 Quetta-II,MWM), Honourable Ms. Masooma Hayat, MPA(PBW-55,PKMAP), Honourable Ms. Samina Khan, MPA (PBW-53,PML-N), Honourable Ms. Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani, MPA (PBW-54,PML-N), Honourable Mr. Sardar Raza Muhammad Barrech, MPA (PB-4 Quetta-IV,PKMAP), Honourable Mr. Manzoor Ahmed Kakar, MPA (PB-6 Quetta-VI,PKMAP), Honourable Mr. Handery Masieh, MPA(NM-65,NP), Honourable Mr. Nasrullah Khan Zaire, MPA (PB-5 Quetta-V,PKMAP), Honourable Ms. Spozmi Achakzai, MPA (PBW-56,PKMAP), Honourable Ms. Arfa Siddique, MPA (PBW-57,PKMAP), Honourable Mr. Agha Syed Liaqat Ali, MPA (PB-8-Pishin-I,PKMAP), Honourable Haji Abdul Malik Kakar, MPA (PB-9-Pishin-II,JUI-F), Honourable Mr. Mir Amir Rind, MPA(PB-31 Bolan-II,PML-N) and Honourable Mr. Ubaidullah Jan Babat, MPA(PB-16 Loralai-II,PKMAP).

MPAs from the Sindh Assembly participating in the Workshop included Honourable Mr. Imdad Ali Pitafi, MPA (PS-52, Tando Allayar-II , PPPP), Honourable Ms. Seema Zia, MPA (RSW-159, PTI), Honourable Mr. Kamran Akhtar, MPA (PS-91,Karachi-III, MQM), Honourable Mr. Samar Ali Khan, MPA (PS-113, Karachi-XXV, PTI), Honourable Syed Ghulam Shah Jeelani, MPA(PS-75Dadu-II-Old Dadu-V,PPPP), Honourable Ms. Mahtab Akbar Rashdi, MPA (RSW-156,PML-F), Honourable Mr. Shafi Muhammad Jamot, MPA (PS-129,Karachi-XLI,PML-N), Honourable Ms. Sorath Thebo, MPA( RSW-158,PML-N), Honourable Mr. Irfanullah Khan Marwat, MPA (PS-114,Karachi-XXVI,PML-N), Honourable Ms. Irum Azeem Farooque, MPA (RSW-154, MQM), Honourable Syed Khalid Ahmed, MPA (PS-122,Karachi-XXXIV, MQM) and Honourable Mr. Waqar Hussain Shah, MPA (PS-128,Karachi-XL,MQM).

Following Discussion Papers were also shared among participants as backgrounder on Federalism:

Historical Evolution of Federalism in Pakistan  [English Version]   [Urdu Version]   [Sindhi Version]

Inter-Governmental Relations in Pakistan Evolution and Potential with Relation to 18th Amendment  [English Version]   [Urdu Version   [Sindhi Version]]

Pakistan Fiscal Management And Accountability [English Version]