The 18th Amendment came into existence after a long struggle which grew after the smaller provinces in Pakistan realized their sense of deprivation and began to feel that they had no control on their resources. This was stated by Senator Mian Raza Rabbani, former Chairman, Senate of Pakistan, while addressing a talk on "18th Amendment: Applause & Criticism," organized by Society for Global Moderation held in Karachi.
Senator Rabbani said the smaller provinces had begun feeling that they had no participation in policy decision-making and the 18th Amendment addressed this need. Drawing the attention to the very foundations that led to the establishment of Pakistan, Senator Raza Rabbani said that Pakistan came into being as a result of the demands put forward by the provinces. He said the Muslim majority provinces had been demanding provincial autonomy and ultimately, this demand transformed into a demand for a separate homeland.
In Quaid-e-Azam's 14 points as well, he pointed out, there were four points that related to provincial autonomy. Senator Rabbani said it needed to be realized that Pakistan is a multi-ethnic and a multi-lingual state and if the autonomy given to the provinces is taken back, it will have very serious consequences for the federation.
Senator Raza Rabbani said that there was a continued struggle for an amendment in the Constitution. This eventually led to the 18th Amendment which abolished the concurrent list and effectively gave the provinces sole legislative authority over many of the previously "concurrent" legislative powers. In this respect, he said, the 18th Amendment was considered a necessary step in regaining provincial confidence and providing autonomy to the provinces.
The 18th Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan was passed by the National Assembly of Pakistan on April 8, 2010, removing the power of the President of Pakistan to dissolve the Parliament unilaterally. This turned Pakistan from a semi-presidential to a parliamentary republic. The Amendment was expected to counter the sweeping powers amassed by the Presidency.
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