A parliamentary panel on Tuesday expressed concern over slow pace of devolution, saying any delay in implementing a constitutional amendment is not acceptable.

The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution, which met here with Senator Mola Baksh Chandio in the chair, said, "No one will be allowed to play with the constitution as we want immediate implementation of the 18th Amendment."

Chandio said that the forces bent upon delaying the implementation of 18th Amendment are against provincial autonomy, which is tantamount to usurping the rights of the smaller provinces.

The committee was told that Workers Welfare Fund has not been devolved to the provinces as matter is still pending before the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and Supreme Court of Pakistan.

The officials concerned said that Balochistan and Sindh want immediate transfer of WWF while Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are silent on the issue, besides an implementation commission has also stopped its devolution.

This angered Chandio who said that how dare implementation commission stop devolution of a ministry to the provinces despite knowing the fact that it is being done through a constitutional amendment. On this, a senior joint secretary of Inter-Provincial Coordination Ministry said that issue has been brought in the notice of the Prime Minister.

Senator Shamim Afridi said that after FATA merger, the development work in the area is quite pathetic, as nothing is being done for the uplift of the area despite making commitments.

The committee decided to write a letter to the newly appointed Chief Secretary KP Dr Kazim to ensure implementation of the 25th Constitutional Amendment as any delay in FATA uplift will not be tolerated.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019