Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination and Chairman Implementation Commission of 18th Constitutional Amendment, Senator Raza Rabbani said on Wednesday more than 80 percent implementation work had been completed on the devolution plan under the 18th Amendment.
However, he said the pace of work regarding legislation under the 18th Amendment is relatively slow in Sindh and Balochistan as compared to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa. Addressing a conference on "Federalism in Pakistan After 18th Amendment," organised by Department of Humanities and Social Science (HSS) LUMS in collaboration with Hans Seidel Foundation, Rabbani said that independent judiciary, free media and active civil society were prerequisite for federalism.
"The perception of strong federation is now old idea and we have to move forward with rationale approach that we can achieve the goal of progress and prosperity by making the provinces strong," he added. Rabbani said that Council of Common Interests (CCI) had made about 38 decisions on various issues after the passage of 18th Amendment.
Criticising the devolution plan introduced by Parvez Musharraf, he said that under this plan, the districts would have to depend on federation for funds which was against the spirit of devolution. Talking about the Balochistan issue he condemned the foreign involvement in the province. No body has the right to interfere in Pakistan's internal affairs, he added. In the wake of 18th Amendment the provinces were getting their due share in the natural resources. He said that the issue of missing persons was very serious and it should be resolved as quickly as possible.
Rabbani condemned drone attacks. He said that drone attacks were not conducted with the consent of the PPP led government but it was the PPP government that took bold decision of stopping the Nato supplies. Giving reference of his book "A Biography of Pakistani Federalism Unity in Diversity" Rabbani said that "political, social and fiscal federalism were needed for strengthening democracy and paving the way for development of Pakistan.
Appreciating the role of LUMS, Rabbani said that other educational institutions should also organise such seminars to create awareness among the students. Sharing his experience and difficulties he faced in building consensus among different parties, Rabbani said that all the political parties played their role for the passage of 18th Amendment, however, some political forces did not accept this change.
Former Finance Minister Sartaj Aziz said that passage of 18th Amendment was a historic decision. However, provinces were facing some problems in transferring of assets from the federal government. He suggested that there should be an independent secretariat of Council of Common Interests (CCI). Former Governor Punjab Barrister Shahid Hamid, Vice Chancellor LUMS Dr Adil Najam, Professor Muhammad Waseem, Advisor NAB Dr Ayesha Siddiqua, Director IPP BNU Ayesha Pasha also spoke on the occasion.