There has been no slowdown in political activities amid the coronavirus pandemic, as tensions between the PTI-led federal government and PPP-led Sindh government continue to rise.
Recently, the federal government is considering revisiting the landmark 18th Amendment and NFC Award, raising concerns of diminishing autonomy and hard-fought provincial rights.
In this regard, several PPP leaders, including PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, have said that they will not allow the Centre to revisit the 18th amendment.
The PTI has from the outset opposed the law as it can’t implement policies when on collision with the provincial government. This consideration has now created a war of powers as the federal government clashed with the provinces.
Let’s take an in-depth review of the 18th amendment and the clash between Sindh and Centre.
What is 18th Amendment?
A decade ago on April 08, 2010, the PPP government passed the comprehensive 18th Amendment stating that it has restored the true face of the 1973 Constitution.
The 18th Amendment is not a single amendment but a collection of several amendments to the Constitution of Pakistan. This constitutional amendment contains various minor and major changes in 83 sections of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Some of the major changes to the constitution are:
1. The name of the Gen Zia ul Haq was removed from the text of Constitution.
2. Sarhad Province was renamed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
3. The 17th Amendment and Legal Framework Order as introduced by Musharraf was repealed.
4. Removing the power of the President of Pakistan to dissolve the Parliament unilaterally.
5. Turning Pakistan from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic.
6. The ban on third time prime ministership and chief ministership has been lifted.
7. More fiscal power to provinces.
8. The Council of Common Interest (CCI) was reconstituted.
9. A Chief Election Commissioner will be appointed through consensus between treasury and opposition.
10. Establishment of Islamabad high court and benches of high courts in Mingora and Turbat.
Centre and Sindh government
The current threat to the 18th amendment and the 7th NFC award is linked with the situation that has emerged in the wake of the differences over lockdown between the PTI-led federal government and the PPP-led Sindh government.
Using the provincial autonomy achieved through 18th amendment, the Sindh government announced a province-wide lockdown to prevent coronavirus on March 21, 2020 while on the same day Prime Minister Imran Khan in his address to the nation opposed the lockdown and requested people to stay at home and observe ‘self-quarantine’.
The refusal of the Sindh government to toe the line of the central government is now apparently being used as a pretext against the 18th amendment.
However, this is not the first time that the 18th amendment has come under attack. With the installation of the PTI government on August 18, 2018, rumours and fears about undoing the 18th amendment rose high.
The provincial autonomy granted through the 18th amendment is a necessity for the PPP’s survival. The party leadership cannot afford to lose the legislative power and access to resources granted through the 18th amendment.
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