This is apropos a Business Recorder editorial "Transfer of powers to provinces" carried by the newspaper recently. The leader has rightly argued that "the verve and vigour injected into the 18th Constitutional Amendment to help equip federating units due dynamism as equal stakeholders in Federal Pakistan seems to have dissipated. It's not for the failing of the one or the other, but of the both. The envisaged pace devolution of powers to the provinces is quite sluggish, and it is so as much for the Centre's reluctance to give up what it should as for the lack of capacity-building on the part of the units to receive it. Even in matters as un-political as health and education the devolution is quite lethargic, much to the chagrin of the general public."
No doubt, the goal of devolution of power to provinces remains elusive. We are, in fact, a quasi democracy, although a real quasi democracy is where a dictator has elections so there is the appearance of democracy. That the government or governments do not believe in devolution of power is a fact that has found its best expression from Sindh and Punjab governments' approach to governance through local government. Initially, both governments had shown dogged resistance to holding of local government elections. They finally agreed to elections for the third tier of governance, albeit reluctantly.