Speaking at a seminar on "Greater Provincial Autonomy" in Islamabad the other day, leaders of different self-confessed 'nationalist' parties from NWFP, Sindh, and Balochistan expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the existing Centre-provinces relationship.
They demanded that the Federal Government rewrite the political contract between the Centre and the provinces in order to ensure that the provinces get greater autonomy.
These sentiments are the result of years of unfulfilled promises, and need to be addressed urgently lest rewriting the political contract becomes a necessity at a considerable risk to the nation in the shape of new political feuds and frustrations.
One of the major accomplishments of the 1973 Constitution is generally believed to be that all the parties present in Parliament, including the nationalist ANP, signed it.
Conscious of the grievances that the previous military regimes had created by insisting on a strong Centre in the name of 'integrity' and 'unity' of the country, which ultimately led to its break-up, the framers of the new Constitution paid special attention to the subject of provincial autonomy, clearly demarcating areas of provincial and federal control.
Most of the subjects that were placed on the 'concurrent list' had to be handed to the provinces within a stipulated time period. But todate the issue of concurrent list is to be sorted out in the favour of the provinces.
In many areas, the Federal Government continues to duplicate the work of the provincial governments.
And in order to meet the increased financial needs on account of the unnecessary responsibilities it continues to assume, it has been usurping the provincial resources.
The caretaker government of Mian Meraj Khalid, back in 1997, went to the extent of revising the NFC Award resource-sharing formula to the Centre's advantage.
In an arbitrary decision, it changed the resource-sharing ratio between the Centre and the provinces from the previous 20:80 to 37.5:62.5.
That surely did not please the provinces at whose expense the Centre diverted so much of finances to its own coffers.
The example clearly shows where all the power resides in contravention of the constitutional pledges.
While the devolution of power at the provincial level is yet to be completed as per the original provisions of the Constitution, the Musharraf government's devolution plan has created another source of unease for the provinces.
As ANP's Asfandyar Wali said at the seminar, his party supported the plan, but opposed the way it was implemented superseding the provincial governments.
He pointed out that it delegated power directly to the district governments, without taking provinces into confidence.
The devolution plan has come under country-wide criticism on that account. Its critics point out that the district governments report to the Governors, and through them to the President, completely bypassing the provincial governments.
And this can allow the Centre to use district governments to pressure uncompromising provincial governments.
A practical demonstration of that came to the fore last June, when a number of NWFP district Nazims - at least 24 of them - tendered their resignations directly to the President to protest against what they alleged was the provincial government's 'bad attitude' towards them.
Besides, the existing order amounts to empowering the districts at the expense of the provinces.
Asfandyar Wali, aptly argued that the role of provinces has been reduced to "merely post offices while the role of chief ministers is just of Post Master General."
That, by no means, is the right way of dealing with the issue of autonomy.
The government must address the problem before it turns graver. Towards that end it must set up a commission, headed by a member of the superior judiciary.
The commission should examine the entire range of issues and concerns relating to provincial autonomy, and identify the solutions that need to be undertaken urgently in order to end the simmering discontent and a growing sense of deprivation in the federating units vis-à-vis the Federation.
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