THE 18th Amendment reflected the collective commitment of the 2008 parliament to increased participatory federalism.
Its authors were aware that devolving powers to the federating units would not be seamless, despite the tremendous support that political parties had extended to the changes in centre-province relations. That is why the Council of Common Interests was ‘institutionalised’ in the amendment, with its own separate secretariat.
Its decisions can now be overturned only by a joint sitting of parliament. Unfortunately, some elements are trying their best to roll back the amendment to ensure the continuation of the centre’s dominant position in the federal scheme. In fact, when in power, certain political parties, including some that had supported the amendment, too, look at it as an obstacle to their plans.
The CCI is the highest constitutional body empowered to decide, formulate and regulate policies concerning interprovincial and centre-province matters, as well as those enlisted in Part II of the Federal Legislative List. It also exercises supervision and control over related institutions such as Irsa. The idea is to strengthen the federal system by resolving policy disputes related to the devolved subjects at CCI meetings mandated to be held every 90 days.
However, successive governments have been in breach of the Constitution by not convening these meetings, not even when the provinces have approached them with complaints or reservations. There have been at least 20 such violations in 14 years due to delays in CCI meetings. No CCI meeting has been held since the present government came to power. One scheduled in July was postponed twice. Only two CCI meetings have been held in 34 months. This shows the respect politicians have for the Constitution when in power. In February 2016, the then Senate chairman Raza Rabbani had noted that policy matters falling under the CCI’s purview would cease to have legal effect without the council’s approval.
The failure to regularly convene CCI meetings means that the process of democratic decision-making is falling apart, with centrist forces dominating matters where the provinces feel that their interests are hurt. For example, the present Shehbaz Sharif government has twice bypassed the CCI in total disregard of Sindh’s concerns. First, it ignored the province’s reservations regarding undemocratic changes in the Irsa law. Now it is baulking at Sindh’s request to discuss its objections on the Cholistan canal project at the CCI forum.
In both cases, unilateral decisions were taken to facilitate the military’s Green Initiative for large-scale corporate farming. Sindh, being the lower riparian, has valid reasons to be upset over these decisions and for insisting on the CCI’s intervention. The federal government is afraid that, if presented before the CCI, the project might be rejected or delayed. By breaching the Constitution to favour centrist forces, the government is harming participatory federalism.
Published in Dawn, November 4th, 2024
