Harping on the ethnicity tune instead of realising the importance of national cohesion in view of the fluid situation in the region, ANP Central President Asfandiyar Wali said in a press statement that April 19 shall be remembered as historic day in the history of Puktuns as on this day they regained their last identity by renaming the former Frontier Province as Khyber Pukhtunkhwa by virtue of 18th Amendment. He claimed that his party stands for the unity of Pashtuns. Is this vague terminology not an oblique reference to the centrifugal concept of “Lar au Bar?” ANP President also claimed that his party provincial government opened vistas of people’s prosperity and established record number of universities and colleges. It is a matter of record that Education Sector Reforms had been approved in 2006 in General Musharraf era, which included expansion of higher education sector.
The original 1973 Constitution enshrined that concurrent list of legislation, shall be abolished after 14 years. A proposal did come under discussion in PML- Q government 2002-7. But the issue lingered on and 18th Amendment was passed by the parliament, which not only transferred the subjects on the concurrent list to federating units but also eliminated the powers of federal government to enforce Governor’s Rule in a federating unit, which is either confronted with political and constitutional crisis or is plagued by worsened law and order situation. The original 1973 Constitution granted these powers to the federal government. That is why, some legal experts and political analysts do not hesitate to express the opinion that 18th Amendment has altered the federal structure of the Constitution and they don’t agree with argument with the authors of this legislation about restoring the 1973 Constitution in its original shape.
The Parliamentary Committee, which deliberated over the draft of this amendment, included two parliamentarians of sublime legal mind from PML-Q, Senators S.M Zafar and Waseem Sajjad. The renowned legal expert Senator S.M Zafar gave a dissenting note on the final draft of 18th Amendment, saying that it will weaken the federation and convert Council of Common Interest into a “super Cabinet” or “government within a government.” The legal and constitutional expert had cautioned that the amendment has posed a major challenge to national identity as curriculum of education institutions, being an important subject, had been devolved to provinces that lack the capacity. The degenerated standard of higher education vindicates the stance of S.M Zafar. The point of view had been supported by PILDAT President Ahmad Bilal Mehboob, in his lecture on April 12 2018 on the topic “18th Amendment and challenges to Federalism” at Policy Research Institute, saying that the legislation does pose problem to national identity and integrity of the state of Pakistan.
In the Constitution of world’s biggest democracy, India, approval from a provincial legislature is not mandatory for the imposition of inevitable Governor’s rule in a federating unit, nor deployment of federal Civil Armed Forces in a province require approval of a summary by the Chief Minister of a federating unit.
The people of Karachi had paid a very high price in the shape of daily carnage during 2010-11 because the PPP provincial government and it ally, MQM, were not interested in stopping mass killing of innocent people and hands of the federal government were tied by certain provisions of 18th Amendment to act for restoring law and order. Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry had to take suo motu on the unending Karachi violence. After a number of hearings, the Supreme Court announced a detailed judgment on Karachi lawlessness case on October 6, 2011, binding the federal government and government of Sindh to implement several recommendations contained in the Apex Court judgment one year.
Great damage was done to higher education by devolving it to the provinces under 18th Amendment. During the ANP tenure of government appointments on faculty and administrative positions were made on the basis of nepotism, political loyalty and monetary consideration. The same culture is still all pervading in public sector universities. The central government has stopped funding of Public Sector Universities and provincial governments refuse to bail them out of prevailing financial crisis. Acquisition of higher education has now become the right and privilege of upper class people. Perhaps the oligarch leadership of political parties wanted to deprive the youth from middle and lower classes to avail the facility of higher education. Is this new vista of people’s prosperity as claimed by ANP Supremo?
