Walls closing in on provincial autonomy: Bilawal

Ag Agencies

KARACHI/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has warned that the space for provincial autonomy was shrinking in Pakistan as he hit out at the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) repeated mentions of bringing into review the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

The opposition lawmaker’s statement coincided with an exclusive interview of President Arif Alvi on Geo Parliament aired on Sunday, in which he said an “improvement” could be brought in the 18th Amendment with the consultation of provinces.

Opposition parties have been sounding the alarm on any attempt to do away with the amendment, which gave provinces increased autonomy from the federation. Prime Minister Imran Khan had at one point suggested the government just wants to “fix anomalies” in the law.

In his statement, Bilawal said democracy in the country was still in its infancy, and criticised the incumbent government for, what he said, was the “deliberate shrinking of provincial autonomy”. He vowed the PPP has made — and will continue to make — sacrifices for the Constitution and democracy.

The PPP chairman declared July 5 the “darkest day in the history of Pakistan” — the day on which the Constitution was suspended and his grandfather Zulfikar Bhutto was ousted as the prime minister by Ziaul Haq. Bilawal said the present regime is the “culmination of the crime of July 5, 1977.

In the Geo Parliament interview, President Alvi revealed that talks between the federal government and provinces have taken place on the issue between the federation and provinces.

“Gradually as our economy improves, which is under pressure from the coronavirus as well, an agreement will be reached [between Centre and provinces] on which province should get what slice of the cake,” he added. “When the situation is tight, disagreements on distribution of income take place even in a household or a family.”

“There are always disagreements and differences between the government and the provinces. These have been there since independence. The 18th Amendment is a law and just like any other law, it can be reviewed and changed,” he said, adding that the move should be done with harmony.

When asked about the recent sugar and wheat scandals that had come to light, the president said that corruption had always been present in the country. He said that if the incumbent government had let corruption continue as had been allowed to fester previously, then all the institutions would end up with the same fate as the Pakistan Steel Mills.

“Reports of investigations [sugar, wheat] along with reports of the last four plane crashes had never been presented [before]. The government opened the investigation [into PIA] knowing its cost. I believe those responsible should be removed,” he added.

Responding to a question about reports of pressure on the bureaucracy amid investigations by NAB, President Alvi said there were only five cases against bureaucrats out of the 1,300 cases in total being probed by the anti-graft body. “NAB’s laws are satisfactory and those who have an issue with them can file a petition against the bureau,” he said, adding that investigations should be carried out into the Malam Jabba, Billion Tree Tsunami, BRT and other plans as well.

When asked why Jahangir Tareen Khan had left the country following the sugar inquiry report’s release, Alvi said the government had not sent him abroad. “I think he will come back and defend himself,” he said.