Businessmen Panel (BMP) Secretary General (Federal) Ahmad Jawad has said 18th Amendment should be revised including NFC award so that the balance of powers could be streamlined including certain powers may be come back to Federation because public looks towards Islamabad on every crises.
Similarly the business community also looks towards federal government despite Industries was a devolved subject, when we talk about the budget, there is more discussion of the federal budget in the media before and after with a lot of expectations connected, regardless main components in the budgets to be associated with the provinces.
Jawad said if we talk about the agriculture, the mainstay of our economy, it was devolved and the numbers are not satisfactory and enough to contribute well in our GDP growth because every province has their own style.
However, if we have a look at leading economies like India, US, Brazil, Israel, and China; agriculture is a federal subject there because they know the importance of this important sector.
Similarly if we talk about the education, it was again devolved. Education is a back-bone of any nation and the uniformity equally required in this sector but today we have seen every province have their own style through their text boards which is not less then a joke.
The 18th Amendment may be a step in right direction, but the process is incomplete yet with a lot a flaws as it gave powers to provincial governments, but the local governments are still powerless.
"Problems cannot be resolved until the federal and provincial governments work in coordination and Covid-19 is the best example, yet provinces look towards Federation to lead."
Jawad was also of the view that it is not even viable that Federation feed the provinces through NFC award with a percentage of not less than 56 percent and they enjoyed the funds with autonomy and then provinces hide in a smart tunnel because again performance indicators lie towards federal government in the media as well as at the time of General Elections.
A constitution represents the will of the people, and if the will has changed 10 years since that amendment, then so be it. If, and the only if, the will of people, as represented by duly elected representatives, so demands that provincial autonomy be rolled back, then as much absurd a decision that may be, it would still be the will of the people, which a republic deems paramount.
He also questioned if the 18th Amendment is a consensus document and any attempt to alter it will spark new controversies, as all the parliamentary parties had unanimously passed the amendment.
"Can they brief the masses what were the benefits of this amendment which already passed on to the people of this country and how people prosperous economically till now?"
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