Case

Decentralization Experience in Asian Journal of Management Cases

17(1) 61–84, 2020
Pakistan: The 18th Constitutional © 2020 Lahore University of
Management Sciences
Amendment Reprints and permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/0972820119892720
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Muhammad Ahsan Rana1

Abstract
Of all the amendments made to the Constitution of Pakistan, the 18th Amendment passed in April
2010 is arguably the most important amendment with the most far-reaching consequences. It restored
the parliamentary character of the Constitution, redefined the Parliament–judiciary relationship by
proposing parliamentary oversight on high judicial appointments and devolved several important
functions to Provincial Governments. This decentralization of responsibility and authority provided the
context in which various institutional actors renegotiated their roles in a contested space during the
years since the Amendment. However, implementation has been quite a challenge in the face of covert
and overt opposition from the federal bureaucracy, which is characteristically averse to any transfer of
resources and authority. This article is a critical examination of the Amendment and its implementation
to understand the nature and extent of devolution of authority resulting therefrom.

Keywords
Decentralization, devolution, constitutional history of Pakistan, 18th Amendment

Discussion Questions
1. What are the key features of the 18th Amendment of the Constitution of Pakistan?
2. What were some of the implementation challenges in the face of covert and overt opposition
from the federal bureaucracy?
3. The devolution of power in the wake of the 18th Amendment was rolled back in several key
aspects. What was the rationale behind such a roll back?
4. Devolution in Pakistan is often resisted on the ground of capacity constraint in lower tiers. How
reasonable is this capacity concern?

1
Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.

Corresponding author:
Muhammad Ahsan Rana, Suleman Dawood School of Business, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore 54792,
Pakistan.
E-mail: [email protected]
62 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

Introduction
It is said that the most significant clause of a constitution is its amending clause (Levinson, 1995). It
allows the constitution to be a living document—to evolve over time through various amendments that
enunciate collective decisions on key issues. The 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed
in April 2010 is one such historic amendment that sought to decentralize power in important ways. First, it
restored the parliamentary character of the Constitution by undoing several key changes made by military
dictators on important matters like the powers of the President. Second, it redefined the Parliament–
judiciary relationship by proposing parliamentary oversight on the appointment of judges in the Supreme
Court and high courts. Third, it devolved several important functions to Provincial Governments by
abolishing the Concurrent Legislative List in the Constitution and amending the Federal Legislative List.
This decentralization of responsibility and authority provided the context in which various institu-
tional actors renegotiated their roles in a contested space, and the Provincial Governments’ amended
laws, established new institutional frameworks, developed policies and strategies and built capacity to
effectively discharge their newly acquired responsibilities. The Amendment, therefore, needs to be
examined in detail. Furthermore, implementing the Amendment has been quite a challenge in the face of
covert and overt opposition from the federal bureaucracy, which is characteristically averse to any
transfer of resources and authority. For example, several functions of the federal ministries dissolved in
the aftermath of the passage of the Amendment were assigned to other federal ministries, rather than
being devolved to provinces in line with the spirit of the Amendment. A critical examination of the
horizontal, as well as a vertical transfer of such functions, is warranted to understand the nature and
extent of devolution of authority resulting from the Amendment.
This article examines the 18th Amendment in detail as a political action that sought to decentralize
power from non-elected to elected forums and from the federation to the provinces. It is divided into six
sections. The second section provides a brief history of federalism in Pakistan. It discusses key provisions
from the 1935 Act, the Constitution of 1956 and the Constitution of 1962 that defined federal–provincial
relations in Pakistan. The third section provides an overview of the 18th Amendment. It briefly examines
the reduction of certain powers of the President, the new process for appointment of judges, provisions
regarding political parties, addition to fundamental rights, the formation of caretaker governments, etc.
The enhanced role of the Council of Common Interests (CCI), the abolition of the Concurrent List and
changes to the Federal List and provisions regarding the National Finance Commission (NFC) are
discussed in detail in the fourth section. The fifth section examines the implementation challenges. Three
sectors, education, health and agriculture, are selected to examine how far the Federal Government has
transferred various functions to Provincial Governments after the abolition of these ministries in
pursuance of the Amendment. The sixth section concludes the article.

History of Federalism in Pakistan

At the time of the establishment of Pakistan in 1947, the Government of India Act of 19351 was adopted
with some amendments as the interim constitution for the state of Pakistan. The Act, which remained
in force for the first 9 years of Pakistan’s existence, provided a federal governance framework2 and
enunciated separate legislative powers for the federation and its constituent units (called governors’
provinces). Sections 99 and 100 provided three legislative lists, which are the Federal List, the Concurrent
List and the Provincial List. The subjects listed as concurrent fell under the joint legislative control of
Rana 63

the Federal and the Provincial Governments. The Federal List had fifty-nine items, the Concurrent List
had thirty-six items and the Provincial List had fifty-four items. The Act also provided the sharing of tax
revenues between the federation and its constituent units. An Intra-Provincial Council was also created
under Section 135 to resolve disputes, if any, between the federation and provinces or among provinces.
After 9 years of deliberations and political negotiations, the Constituent Assembly finally adopted a
new Constitution in 1956. The 1956 Constitution also provided for a federal, parliamentary governance
structure for Pakistan (Article 1). Article 43 created a unicameral Parliament and Article 44 specified the
number of seats at 300. The Constitution recognized the concept of One Unit3 and seats in the Parliament
were equally divided between East and West Pakistan, with ten seats reserved for women. Article 106
divided subjects into three legislative lists, viz., the Federal List (thirty items), the Concurrent List
(nineteen items) and the Provincial List (ninety-three items). Most items of greater significance were
either in the Federal List or in the Concurrent List (Rabbani, 2011). The Constitution created a National
Economic Council comprising four federal ministers and three ministers from each province. It also
created an NFC to make recommendations regarding the distribution of resources between the federation
and provinces. However, the Commission could only make recommendations, which were not binding
on the Federal Government.
Despite its federal and democratic character, the 1956 Constitution had two important centralizing
features. First, Article 109 specified that the residual powers, that is, the power to legislate on subjects
not included in any of the three lists will vest in the Federal Government. Second, Article 92 required the
governor’s recommendation before introducing a bill or amendment regarding a matter specified in a
money bill or one that would involve expenditure from the provincial revenue. Since the governor was a
federal nominee, this effectively constrained provincial authority to legislate freely. Furthermore, there
was no mention of dispute resolution by an independent forum, like the Inter-Parliment Council of the
1935 Act. Instead, the Constitution required the Chief Justice of Pakistan to mediate in case there was a
dispute between the two provinces or between the federation and provinces.
The Constitution of 1956 had a short life, as martial law was imposed in October 1958. Ayub Khan
introduced a new Constitution in March 1962, which was a poor mix of the 1935 Act and the 1956
Constitution. Article 1 of the new Constitution deleted the word ‘Federal’ from the name of the country4
and Article 70 created two separate assemblies for East and West Pakistan, which were granted parity in
all federal matters. The Constitution provided for a unicameral federal legislature with 156 members
equally divided between the two provinces (six seats reserved for women). The 1962 Constitution pro-
vided only one list (Third Schedule) containing forty-three subjects on which the Central Government
could exclusively legislate. Article 132 vested the residual powers with provinces.
Vesting provinces with residual powers was an important step to decentralize authority and res-
ponsibility, but two provisions of the Constitution effectively circumscribed provincial authority. First,
Article 131 empowered the Central Legislature to make laws in the national interest of Pakistan on
matters of national security, economic and financial stability and planning and coordination. This was an
open-ended provision and created an allowance for the Central Government to regulate even those
matters that were not included in the Central List. Second, Article 74 declared that in case of a conflict
between the governor (a federal nominee) and a Provincial Assembly, if the conflict was decided in
favour of the governor by the National Assembly, the governor could dissolve the Provincial Assembly
with the consent of the President. Rather than referring a conflict to a non-partisan forum or one
comprising representatives of both parties, the Central Government became a judge in its own cause.
Furthermore, the National Economic Council was to be nominated by the President, with no specific
provision for provincial representation.
64 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

The 1962 Constitution was immediately abrogated by the new military government upon taking over
power in 1968. Elections were held in 1971 and the National Assembly took up the task of framing a new
constitution for remaining Pakistan in 1972. The new Interim Constitution of 1972—unanimously passed
in April 1973—clearly enunciated the federal character of the state in its Preamble as well as in Article 1,
which declared Pakistan a federal republic. It created a bicameral Parliament, comprising the National
Assembly and the Senate, and provincial assemblies for each province. There were to be three tiers of gov-
ernment: federal, provincial and local. The Fourth Schedule to the Constitution contained two lists: the
Federal Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List. The Federal List was divided into Part I and
Part II, which had fifty-nine and eight items respectively. The Concurrent List had forty-seven items and all
residual matters were deemed to vest in provinces. Provinces could legislate on any subject not included in
the Federal List. However, in case of a clash between federal law and a provincial law on a subject in the
Concurrent List, the federal law was to prevail (Article 143). Furthermore, Article 144 of the Constitution
allowed the Federal Government to legislate even on a residual subject, provided a specific request to this
effect was made by at least two provincial assemblies. In case of such legislation, however, a province
could at any time annul or amend the federal legislation to the extent of such province.
The administrative relations between the federation and provinces were dealt with in Part V of the
Constitution. The most important feature of this relationship was the CCI, which provided for joint
decision-making by the federation and provinces on certain matters. It comprised chief ministers of
provinces and an equal number of members from the Federal Government to be nominated by the Prime
Minister. The Council was to formulate policies and resolve conflicts on all matters in the Federal
Legislative List Part II and on electricity (the only item from the Concurrent List). This was a radical
departure from the earlier constitutions, which had reserved for the federation the exclusive legislative
rights on subjects in the Federal List. In case the Council failed to reach a decision or the Federal or a
Provincial Government was dissatisfied with a decision, the matter was to be referred to the joint sitting
of the Parliament for the final decision. To decide important economic matters, a National Economic
Council was constituted comprising the Prime Minister and other members nominated by the President.
Article 160 created an NFC comprising finance ministers of the Federal Government and Provincial
Governments and such other members appointed by the President. The NFC was entrusted with the task
of making recommendations regarding the distribution of revenue between the Federal Government and
Provincial Governments, making of grant-in-aid to Provincial Governments and the exercise of borrow-
ing powers of the Federal Government and Provincial Governments.
Over the years, the 1973 Constitution was amended by democratically elected as well as military
governments. Of particular importance are the 8th Amendment and the 17th Amendment introduced
respectively by General Zia and General Musharraf during their tenures. Both distorted the parliamen-
tary and the federal character of the Constitution. Much of this was undone by the 18th Amendment.

Overview of the 18th Constitutional Amendment

The 18th Amendment sought to comprehensively5 amend the Constitution not only to restore its parlia-
mentary character but also to resolve several other emerging issues, such as the renaming of the North-
West Frontier Province (NWFP), the appointment of judges and strengthening certain key constitutional
offices. For the sake of convenience, various provisions of the Amendment can be grouped into five
categories: (a) restoration of the parliamentary form of government, (b) strengthening key institutions,
(c) appointment of judges, (d) federation–provinces relations and (e) miscellaneous (see Appendix A for
a summary). A brief discussion follows.
Rana 65

Restoration of the Parliamentary Form of Government

The 17th Amendment had transferred several key functions to the President and had greatly enhanced his
powers vis-à-vis the Parliament and its executive arm. Thus, the President was no longer a titular head,
as originally envisaged by the 1973 Constitution. The 18th Amendment repealed the 17th Amendment
in its entirety6 and also declared illegal the various Legal Framework Orders of 2002. The President’s
powers were reduced in several aspects. For example, before the Amendment, the executive authority
of the federation vested in the President who could exercise such authority either directly or through
officers subordinate to him (Article 90). The amended Article clearly states that the executive authority
of the federation is to be exercised by the Federal Government and that the Prime Minister shall be the
chief executive of the federation. Rules of Business are also to be framed by the Federal Government
and not the President. The power of the President to delay the Assembly session after the elections and/
or to appoint in his discretion a member of the National Assembly as the Prime Minister who, in his
opinion, was likely to command the confidence of the majority of members has been abolished. Now,
the Assembly must meet 21 days after the elections and elect a Prime Minister, whom the President must
call upon to assume the office of the Prime Minister.
Similarly, the amendment to Article 232 reduces the President’s power to impose emergency in a
province. Under the amended Article, a proclamation of emergency may be issued only after a resolution
to this effect has been passed by the Provincial Assembly concerned. If the President has to act in his
discretion, the Proclamation has to be placed before Parliament for approval by each House within 10
days. Failing such approval, the declaration shall cease to be effective upon 2 months of its pronounce-
ment. Fundamental rights can still be suspended during emergency under Article 233, but every such
order has to be placed before each House of the Parliament separately, thereby giving the Senate a key
role in protecting the rights of provinces vis-à-vis undue interference by the Federal Government.
Article 58 was also amended to delete the infamous 2(B), which empowered the President to dissolve
the National Assembly in his discretion if a situation arose in which the government could not be carried
out in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. After the deletion of 58 (2[b]) and amendment
of 58 (1[a]), the National Assembly can only be dissolved on the advice of the Prime Minister or when a
vote of no confidence has been passed against a Prime Minister and no other member of the Assembly
commands the majority of the members as ascertained in a session so summoned.
The President reserves the right to be informed on all matters of internal and foreign policy, but he
has to act on the advice of the Prime Minister (and his Cabinet) in all important matters. The President
now appoints governors, chairmen of Federal Public Service Commission and services chiefs on the
advice of the Prime Minister, which is binding. Furthermore, time limits have been specified for the
President to act on the advice of the Prime Minister. The period during which the President has to grant
his assent to a bill passed by the Parliament has been reduced to 10 days. The President’s power to refer
a question to a referendum in his discretion has also been removed. Similar powers of governors in
provinces have been reduced likewise.

Strengthening Key Institutions

The 18th Amendment has greatly strengthened two key constitutional institutions, that is, the Auditor
General of Pakistan and the Election Commission of Pakistan. The auditor-general has been granted a
fixed term of 4 years (Article 168), whereas, previously, the term was to be determined by the Parliament
through an Act. Other terms and conditions of his service are to be determined by the Parliament.
66 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

Furthermore, the amended Article 168(6) makes it mandatory for the President to appoint the most senior
officer in the office of the auditor-general as the Auditor General of Pakistan.
Similarly, provisions regarding the appointment and functioning of the election commissioners have
been amended to grant the office greater operational autonomy. The term of office of the Chief Election
Commissioner (CEC) has been enhanced from 3 years to 5 years. Previously, the President could appoint
the CEC in his discretion, but the Amendment prescribes a transparent procedure for the appointment.
The amended Article 213 requires the Prime Minister to forward three names to a parliamentary commit-
tee after consulting the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly. The parliamentary committee
is to be constituted by the Speaker and comprises at most twelve members—50 per cent from the trea-
sury and 50 per cent from opposition parties to be nominated by various parliamentary party leaders in
the Assembly based on their respective strength. Thus, it is no longer the sole prerogative of the Federal
Government or even the Leader of the House and the Opposition to appoint someone for one of the most
important offices in a democracy. The CEC must be chosen through a process of broad-based consulta-
tion in the Parliament.
Furthermore, power and authority has been vested in the Election Commission, rather than the CEC.
The Election Commission comprises five commissioners, CEC is one of them. The other four must have
a retired judge of the High Court from each province. It is now up to the Commission, instead of the
CEC, to make rules for the appointment of officers and staff in the employment of the Commission.

Appointment of Judges
The most contentious part of the 18th Amendment was the one which dealt with the appointment of
judges to the Supreme Court and High Courts mainly because the superior judiciary had assumed
this function to the exclusion of all other institutions through a series of judgements over the past two
decades. A new Article (175A) was inserted in the Constitution, which created a Judicial Commission of
Pakistan for the appointment of judges to the Supreme Court, High Courts and the Federal Shariat Court.
The Commission was to comprise the Chief Justice of Pakistan and six other members—two senior-most
judges of the Supreme Court, a former Chief Justice or a former judge of the Supreme Court nominated
by the Chief Justice in consultation with the two judges, the Federal Minister for Law and Justice, the
Attorney General of Pakistan and a senior advocate nominated by the Pakistan Bar Council. For the
appointment of judges of a High Court, the Commission was to have the following additional members:
the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court, the senior-most judge of the High Court, provincial Law
Minister and a senior advocate nominated by the provincial Bar Council concerned. Similarly, the Chief
Justice of the Federal Shariat Court and the senior-most judge of the Shariat Court were also made
members of the Commission for appointments in the Shariat Court. Thus, the Commission had broad-
based representation from the government, the judiciary and the legal fraternity. Under this Article, the
President was required to appoint the most senior judge of the Supreme Court as the Chief Justice of
Pakistan, but for all other vacancies in superior judiciary, the Commission was to nominate one person
for each vacancy to an eight-member parliamentary committee (the Leader of the House and the Leader
of Opposition to nominate two members each from each House of the Parliament). The parliamentary
committee could either confirm the Commission’s nomination against a vacancy within 14 days by a
simple majority or reject the nomination by three-fourth majority of its total members.
For the broad-based parliamentary committee that drafted the 18th Amendment and the parlia-
mentarians who unanimously passed the Amendment, this comprised a transparent and objective process
for the appointment of judges. The principle of seniority was accepted in the appointment of the Chief
Rana 67

Justice, and for all other appointments, the nomination was to originate from the Judicial Commission
and finalized by the parliamentary committee having representation from the treasury and the opposition
in both houses. While parliamentary oversight was ensured, the requirement of the three-fourth majority
meant that the Committee could not casually reject a nomination from the Commission.
However, not everyone was happy. Shortly after the passage of the 18th Amendment, a petition was
filed in the Supreme Court of Pakistan challenging these portions of the Amendment on the ground that
this amounted to undermining judicial autonomy and altering the ‘basic structure’ of the Constitution
(Hamid, 2010). The Supreme Court passed an order in October 2010 highlighting the objections to the
Amendment and referring the matter back to the Parliament.
Consequently, another amendment—the 19th Amendment—was brought to settle the issue of judges’
appointment once and for all. The 19th Amendment amended Articles 81, 175A, 182, 213 and 246 of the
Constitution. Of greatest significance was the amendment of Article 175A. Membership of the Judicial
Commission was enhanced to include four most senior judges of the Supreme Court instead of the previ-
ous two. More importantly, the parliamentary committee was now required to record its sessions, record
its reasons for rejecting a nomination (with the three-fourth majority of the total membership) and pass
on these reasons to the Judicial Commission through the Prime Minister. In effect, this meant that
although the parliamentary committee could still object to a nomination from the Commission, it was the
Commission who got to decide whether such objections were valid or otherwise.
In addition to specifying a new process for the appointment of judges, the 18th Amendment had three
other features that were important for the judicial system in Pakistan. First, the Islamabad High Court
was created through inserting a new clause in Article 175 and benches of the Peshawar High Court and
the Balochistan High Court were established at Mingora and Turbat, respectively, through amendment
of Article 198. Second, judges have been protected against involuntary transfers from one High Court
to another. Previously, a High Court judge could be transferred to another High Court without his
consent and the consent of the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and High Courts involved, if the
period of transfer was less than 2 years. A judge refusing such transfer was deemed as retired from
service. These provisions have been removed, meaning that a judge can only be transferred with his
consent and with the consent of relevant Chief Justices. Third, certain protection has been extended to
judges of the Federal Shariat Court who cannot be removed from office except in the manner and on
grounds as specified for a Supreme Court judge.

Miscellaneous
In addition to the above changes and the assigning of greater responsibility to provinces (discussed in the
next section), the 18th Amendment brought several important changes in the Constitution of Pakistan.
These are discussed below.
The NWFP was renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK). This was a long-standing demand of the
people of the province. At the same time, it triggered the demand for the creation of a new province in
KPK. Spellings of Baluchistan and Sind were changed to Balochistan and Sindh respectively.
The requirement for political parties to hold intra-party elections under Article 17 was done away
with. They are still required to hold these elections but under an Act of the Parliament (Political Parties
Act of 1962), rather than under the Constitution. The ban on a person becoming the Prime Minister for
a third term has also been removed. A new process has been prescribed for the appointment of the care-
taker Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The caretaker Prime Minister is to be appointed by the President
in consultation with the outgoing Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition in the National
68 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

Assembly. In case of a disagreement between the two, the matter is referred to the CEC, who will pick
from among the names proposed by the leaders of erstwhile treasury and opposition.
Three new fundamental rights were created. Article 10A made fair trial and due process a fundamental
right of every citizen of Pakistan. This was done to ward off arbitrary trials and victimization of political
opponents by military and civil governments. Article 19A made access to information another fundamental
right. Even on matters of national security that can be kept secret for a certain time, citizens should have
the right to get access to full information after the lapse of such a period so that an objective assessment
of issues and decisions can be made. In pursuance of this Article, Provincial Governments are now
legislating their own freedom of information acts.7
An important addition to fundamental rights is the right to education (Article 25A). Although
providing education, especially to the marginalized and the poor, and has been a priority for Federal and
Provincial Governments, it was not an enforceable right per se. Article 25A renders it the state’s respon-
sibility to provide free and compulsory education to all children in the 5–16 years age group. This
fundamental right has been furthered through provincial legislations. All four provincial assemblies have
passed legislation to provide free education to children in their respective territories.
The definition of treason under Article 6 was expanded to also include suspension and holding in
abeyance of the Constitution. Furthermore, conspiring, abetting and collaborating to abrogate, subvert,
suspend or hold in abeyance the Constitution was also made an offence of an equal measure under the
said Article. A new clause (2A) was inserted to prohibit the Supreme Court and High Courts to validate
any such treasonous act. Military dictator Pervez Musharraf’s 2007 actions of imposing emergency and
imprisoning judges also attracted the application of this Article. However, attempts to try him for treason
have brought to the fore difficulties in implementing this provision.
The Sixth and Seventh Schedules to the Constitution have been abolished. The Sixth Schedule
contained a list of thirty-five laws, which could not be amended without prior approval of the President.
This list included laws on expressly provincial subjects, like the Local Government. This comprised a
serious constraint on provinces, who could not legislate freely even in expressly provincial matters. The
Seventh Schedule contained a list of eight laws, which could only be amended through the process
prescribed for the passage of a constitutional amendment. After the abolition of the two Schedules, laws
listed therein are to be treated as any other law on the statute book.

Decentralizing Responsibility and Authority

A large portion of the 18th Amendment dealt with federal–provincial relations and sought to strengthen
the position of provinces in the federation of Pakistan. In addition to transferring several functions to
provinces, the Amendment clarified/amended numerous procedures in a manner to grant provinces
greater say in running the affairs of the federation. A brief discussion of these provisions follows.

Changes to the Federal Legislative List

Perhaps the most notable changes were the ones made in the Fourth Schedule, which had two legislative
lists, that is, the Federal Legislative List and the Concurrent Legislative List. The Federal List had two
parts. Part I contained fifty-nine items and Part II had eight items. Subjects in Part I are the exclusive
responsibility of the Federal Government, whereas, subjects in Part II are to be deliberated and decided
Rana 69

upon jointly by the federation and provinces through the CCI. The 18th Amendment made the following
changes to the Federal List:

1. Four items were transferred from Part I to Part II of the List. These were: major ports; census;
extension of the powers and jurisdiction of members of a provincial police force to other
provinces; and national planning and economic coordination.
2. Four new items were added to Part II. These were: all regulatory authorities established under
federal law; supervision and management of public debt; standards in institutions of higher
education as well as research, scientific and technical institutions; and Inter-Parliment coordi-
nation.
3. The following two items were shifted from the Concurrent List to Part II of the Federal List:
electricity and legal, medical and other professions.
4. One item (boilers) was shifted from the Concurrent List to the Federal List Part I.
5. The following five items were deleted from the Federal List Part I: state lotteries; duties regard-
ing the succession of properties; estate duty with respect to the property; capital gains; and the
general sales tax on services.

Thus, the modified Federal List is as follows: Part I—fifty-one items; Part II—eighteen items. It should
be noted that the expansion of Part II of the List has not come at the cost of provinces but is a direct result
of the shrinking of Part I and the abolition of the Concurrent List. Since Part II of the Federal List falls
under shared responsibility of the federation and provinces, a transfer of subjects to this Part signifies an
enhanced role for provinces even in matters that continue to be legitimately federal.
The amended Federal List Part I contains subjects that have a supra-provincial character. Examples
are: defence; military, naval and air force works; local self-government in cantonment areas; external
affairs, implementation of treaties and agreements; nationality, citizenship and naturalization; migration
to and from Pakistan; posts and telegraphs; currency; foreign exchange; nuclear energy; quarantine;
copyrights; national highways; federal surveys; the State Bank of Pakistan; federal institutions like
the Federal Ombudsman and the Federal Public Service Commission; various institutions in the federal
territory; and federal taxation.
With the possible exception of federal institutions listed above, institutions working within the federal
territory and federal taxation, all other subjects in Part I of the Federal List ultimately concern the prov-
inces and it is possible to make a case for transfer of any number of these subjects to Part II of the List,
which would enable a greater provincial say in such subjects. To start with, cantonment areas and posts
and telegraph with local self-government appear to be good candidates for such further decentralization
of responsibility.
The amended Federal List Part II also contains subjects of importance. These are railways, mineral oil
and natural gas, development of industries, federal corporations, industries and projects, CCI, major
ports, census, economic coordination, all regulatory authorities established under federal law, electricity,
legal, medical and other professions and Inter-Parliment coordination.

Abolition of the Concurrent Legislative List

Another List in the Fourth Schedule was the Concurrent List containing forty-seven subjects on which
the Federal Government, as well as Provincial Governments, could legislate. Political parties, especially
nationalist parties from smaller provinces, had consistently demanded the abolition of this List and
70 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

transfer of all subjects included therein to provinces. It was also widely believed that there was verbal
agreement among framers of the Constitution in 1973 that the List would be abolished after 10 years.
However, there was no written record of any such formal or informal agreement to this effect (Rabbani,
2011). The 18th Amendment abolished the Concurrent List. As noted above, two subjects were transferred
to Part II of the Federal List and one subject was transferred to Part I of the List. The remaining forty-four
subjects automatically devolved to provinces as residual subjects.
The subjects that came to an exclusive provincial realm include criminal law, criminal procedure,
civil procedure, evidence and oath, marriage and divorce, adoption, bankruptcy, arbitration, contracts,
transfer of property, preventive detention, arms and firearms, explosives, opium, drugs and medicines,
poisons and dangerous drugs, mental illness, environmental illness and pollution, population planning
and social welfare, labour welfare, trade unions, shipping and navigation on inland waterways, newspaper,
books and printing presses, evacuee property, Islamic education, zakat, tourism and auqaf.
This represents the extended sphere of provincial responsibility and authority. For provinces, it meant
two things. First, they were now required to legislate on these subjects, even if this amounted to adopting
mutatis mutandis the federal legislation. Hitherto, provinces had mainly relied on the Federal Govern-
ment for legislation, policy and regulation. But these subjects were no longer legitimate federal business;
hence, provinces had to frame their own laws, rules and policies in these matters. Until this was done,
Article 270AA (added through the Amendment) provided for the continuation of existing laws,
regulations and notifications to avoid a legal vacuum in the aftermath of the abolition of the Concurrent
List. Second, provinces had to develop the capacity to effectively discharge these newly acquired
responsibilities. Federal legislation had, in most cases, also created federal institutional infrastructure,
which now had to be either continued in the federation under another guise or had to be established in
provinces. We will see several examples of both in the next section.

Strengthening Provinces Vis-à-vis the Federation

The provincial role in governance was enhanced in several ways. For example, Article 157 was amended
to require the Federal Government to consult the concerned Provincial Governments before taking a
decision for constructing hydroelectric power stations in the province. Furthermore, any dispute in this
matter could now be referred to the CCI for resolution. Similarly, a proviso was added to Article 147 so
that if a Provincial Government entrusted to the Federal Government any of its functions, it had to seek
ratification for such Act from the Provincial Assembly within 60 days.
In the same spirit, the CCI was strengthened by amending Articles 153 and 154, which dealt with the
composition and functions of the Council. Previously, the Council comprised four members from the
Federal Government and provincial chief ministers. It was chaired by the Prime Minister if he was a
member, or by another Federal Minister who is a member of the Council. The Amendment made the
Prime Minister a member and the chairman. Furthermore, it was made compulsory for the Federal
Government to constitute the Council within 30 days of the Prime Minister taking the oath of office.
The composition of the National Economic Council was specified as comprising the Prime Minister,
four members nominated by the Prime Minister, provincial chief ministers and four members nominated by
the chief ministers (one by each Chief Minister). The Prime Minister was to act as the chairman of the
Council, which was entrusted with the responsibility of reviewing the overall economic condition of the
country and advising the Federal and Provincial Governments on financial, economic and social policies.
An important contribution of the 18th Amendment was to strengthen the Senate and assign it a greater
role in various matters. Since the Senate represents provincial assemblies in the federal Parliament, its
Rana 71

strengthening automatically translated into greater provincial say. For example, under Article 91(4), the
Cabinet was collectively responsible to the National Assembly. An amendment in this Article made the
Cabinet responsible to the National Assembly as well as the Senate. Similarly, the President could previ-
ously issue an ordinance even when the Senate was in session. An amendment in Article 89 expressly
prohibited the issuance of an ordinance when either House of the Parliament was in session. Since
legislation could be initiated in either House, it was only logical to propose a piece of legislation at once
in the House that was in session, rather than adopting the ordinance route. Furthermore, the Senate was
given equal representation in the parliamentary committee responsible for finalizing the Judicial
Commission’s recommendations for the appointment of judges. Both the treasury and the opposition
were required to nominate two members from each House.
In several cases, even when recourse to the Senate was warranted under the 1973 Constitution, the
matter was placed before a joint sitting of the Parliament, which effectively meant a dissenting view
from the Senate was subsumed under the numerical majority of the National Assembly. The 18th
Amendment brought several changes to require such matters to be placed before both Houses of the
Parliament separately. For example, the presidential proclamation of emergency was to be placed before
each House for approval within 10 days of the proclamation, and so was any order suspending a funda-
mental right during an emergency under Article 233. Similarly, the National Economic Council was
made responsible for both Houses of the Parliament through the insertion of a new clause to Article 156.
Furthermore, Articles 29, 153 and 171 were amended so that several important reports (e.g., Report on
the Principles of Policy, Report of the Council of Common Interests and Report of the Auditor General
of Pakistan) were presented to both Houses, instead of just the National Assembly.

Enhanced Share in National Resources

Another important contribution of the 18th Amendment was to recognize provinces as rightful
beneficiaries of their natural resources in collaboration with the Federal Government. An amendment
in Article 172 limited the ownership of the Federal Government to lands, minerals and other things
of value within the continental shelf or underlying the ocean beyond the territorial waters of Pakistan.
Thus, lands, minerals, etc., that lay within Pakistani territorial waters were left for provinces to explore,
develop and exploit. Furthermore, all new discoveries of minerals, oil and natural gas within a province
or in territorial waters adjacent to a province were to be owned jointly and equally by the Federal and
the Provincial Governments.
An important institution created by the 1973 Constitution was the NFC, which had provincial repre-
sentation and was responsible for resource distribution between the Federal Government and Provincial
Governments. The 18th Amendment strengthened provincial position vis-à-vis the NFC by declaring
that the share of a province in an NFC award will not be less than its share in the previous award (Article
160[3A]). It also required the NFC to present its report to both Houses of the Parliament and provincial
assemblies.
A new clause was added to Article 161 so that the net proceeds of the federal excise duty on oil levied
at well head and collected by the Federal Government went entirely to the provinces in which such well
heads were located, rather than forming part of the Federal Consolidated Fund. Previously, only the net
proceeds of the excise duty on natural gas went to the province concerned. Sales tax on services also
became a provincial tax after its deletion from the Federal List.
Subject to the oversight of the National Economic Council (in which provinces were represented),
provinces were allowed to raise loans and provide guarantees under Article 167. This fulfilled a
72 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

long-standing provincial demand to raise loans from domestic or international lenders against the
security of the Provincial Consolidated Fund.

The Implementation Challenge

From the above discussion, it is evident that the 18th Amendment created the necessary constitutional
framework for administrative and fiscal devolution of responsibility from the federation to the provinces.
The next challenge was its implementation, which was problematic for two reasons. First, the federal
(elected and unelected) officialdom was quite averse to letting go of responsibility, as it ultimately
meant the loss of control over human, physical and fiscal resources. It was quick to invent innovative
interpretations of various constitutional provisions as well as develop seemingly convincing justifications
for keeping at least the more important functions in the Federal Government. Several ministries, instead
of initiating enabling legislation, referred their dissolution proposals back to the Implementation
Commission for review (Jamy et al., 2012). Second, there were apprehensions about the capacity of
Provincial Governments, which neither had the legal and institutional infrastructure nor the human
resource to effectively perform various functions, if these were devolved. Even Provincial Governments
(especially Balochistan) appreciated this and were, in some cases, happy to let the Federal Government
continue performing functions as before.
Nevertheless, the momentum created by the 18th Amendment was hard to resist. Ultimately, eighteen
federal ministries were dissolved on 1 July 2011 to give effect to various provisions of the Amendment.
Functions performed by the dissolved ministries were either assigned to different federal ministries
(particularly to the four new ministries created in October 2011) or deleted or transferred to Provincial
Governments. Rules of Business were amended accordingly. The current position is summarized below:

Functions performed by dissolved ministries 301

Functions assigned to other ministries 207
Functions devolved to provinces   94

The data show that less than one-third functions were actually devolved, which is not very encouraging.
In the following subsections, changes brought in pursuance of the 18th Amendment are examined in
respect of agriculture, education and health sectors.

Agriculture
In the 1973 Constitution, agriculture was part of neither the Federal Legislative List nor the Concurrent
Legislative List; that is, it was a residual subject and ipso facto the exclusive responsibility of provinces.
And yet, there was a large Ministry of Food and Agriculture in the Government of Pakistan, which,
immediately before its dissolution, was performing thirty-nine different functions and had twelve
attached departments/organizations. It had 7,020 employees and a development budget of PKR 10.9
billion. It was implementing fifty-nine projects worth PKR 65.4 billion (Bakhshi, Hussain, Ahmad, Baig,
& Zamir, 2012). The Ministry strongly opposed its dissolution on the ground that agriculture was central
to Pakistan’s economy and a significant contributor to exports. When it became clear that dissolution
was inevitable, the Ministry proposed its reincarnation as the Ministry of Food Security and Research
(Jamy et al., 2012). Accordingly, a new Ministry of National Food Security and Research was created
in October 2011.
Rana 73

Appendix B lists the now-dissolved Ministry’s functions and departments and indicates its current
status.8 Summary statistics are as follows:

Functions:

Deleted 02
Transferred to other ministries 26
Devolved to provinces 11

Attached departments/organizations:

Wound up 04
Transferred to other ministries 07
Devolved to provinces 01

An examination of the disposal of functions and departments of the erstwhile Ministry of Food and
Agriculture upon its dissolution in 2011 is illustrative in two ways. First, agriculture being a residual
subject, there was no justification for the existence of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture with such a
large portfolio in the first place. This was clearly a historical wrong and the 18th Amendment provided an
opportunity for correcting the same. But the opportunity was missed and only two functions were deleted
and only eleven were devolved to provinces. The rest were retained as such, although one has to stretch
one’s imagination to appreciate the need to keep agricultural storage, seed testing and certification,
agricultural research, grading, etc., in the federal purview. It is also noteworthy that these functions
were already being performed by Provincial Governments in parallel with the Federal Government.
For example, the Government of Punjab had an elaborate agricultural research network under the Ayub
Agricultural Research Institute with a mandate similar to the one pursued by the Pakistan Agricultural
Research Council (retained by the Federal Government). Second, only four attached departments/
organizations were wound up (another one in the process) and only one was devolved to provinces. The
only one to be devolved—the Soil Survey of Pakistan—was devolved to Punjab since its offices were
located in Lahore, which meant that, effectively, none were devolved to smaller provinces.
The case of seed testing and certification exemplifies the unwillingness of the federal officialdom
to devolve functions and resources. This function is performed under the Seed Act of 1976, which is a
federal statute passed after provincial assemblies ceded their authority to the Federal Government under
Article 144 of the Constitution (Rana, Spielman, & Fatima, 2016; Hussain & Hussain, 2007). This was
necessary since the Federal Government could not legislate on seed on its own, agriculture being a
residual subject. Under the Seed Act of 1976, the Federal Seed Certification and Registration Department
(FSC&RD) was established to register new plant varieties and regulate the seed business in Pakistan.
FSC&RD was based in Islamabad and had its field offices in provinces, which inter alia provided seed
certification services to seed producers.
Over the years, several new developments in the seed provision system, especially the emergence of
the private seed sector as a major seed provider, necessitated amendments in the Seed Act, 1976. But the
same could be made only after obtaining fresh authorization from at least two provinces in terms of
Article 144 of the Constitution. Although Provincial Governments, particularly the Government of
Punjab, appreciated the urgency to amend the Seed Act of 1976, none provided the required authoriza-
tion despite some follow-up from the then Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
In the wake of the 18th Amendment, it was only natural for Provincial Governments to expect that at
least a function as mundane as seed testing and certification would be devolved. Unfortunately, this did
74 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

not happen and the Federal Government initially assigned it to the Ministry of Science and Technology
and subsequently to the newly created Ministry of National Food Security and Research. The FSC&RD
was also transferred to the new Ministry. But not all provinces were ready to take it lying down. The
momentum created by the 18th Amendment emboldened the Government of Punjab to consider repeal-
ing the Seed Act of 1976 to the extent of Punjab and legislating a new Punjab Seed Act instead.
Accordingly, the draft Punjab Seed Act was prepared in 2011 and shared with stakeholders, including the
FSC&RD. The latter opposed it vehemently and instead asked the Government of Punjab to expedite
ceding of legislative authority under Article 144 to bring the required amendments in the Seed Act of
1976. In 2015, the Government of Punjab provided such authorization to the Federal Government and
the Seed Act was amended by the federal Parliament. This further asserted the federal character of seed
sector legislation, notwithstanding tall claims of the 18th Amendment at the devolution of power.
The retention of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC) by the Federal Government presents
a similar example. The PCCC is responsible for conducting research on various aspects of cotton produc-
tion and manages a set of research stations in Punjab and Sindh. Since both provinces had their own
developed cotton research programmes—in fact, the Government of Punjab’s equally large Cotton
Research Station was situated right across the road from PCCC’s Cotton Research Institute in Multan—
they expected PCCC to be devolved and its research outfits to be shared between the two provinces.
Instead, the Federal Government chose to retain PCCC, which was assigned to the Ministry of Textiles
upon the dissolution of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, and to the newly created Ministry of
National Food Security in 2017.

Education
The 18th Amendment brought several important changes to the Constitution that had a direct bearing
on education provision in Pakistan. Perhaps the most significant was the insertion of Article 25A, which
made education a fundamental right and required the state to provide free and compulsory education
to all children between the ages of 5–16 years. Implementation of this fundamental right requires the
Federal and Provincial Governments to establish the necessary legislative and institutional frameworks
for their respective areas of jurisdiction. As noted above, the Provincial Governments have already
enacted a new law to this effect, but only the Sindh government has framed rules to operationalize the
right to education laws.
Furthermore, the abolition of the Concurrent List brought the following two subjects in the exclusive
provincial realm:

1. Curriculum, syllabus, planning, policy, centres of excellence and standards of education

2. Islamic education

Previously, the setting of the national curriculum and syllabus was the responsibility of the Curriculum
Wing of the (now dissolved) Ministry of Education. The Wing was established under the Federal
Supervision of Curricula, Textbooks and Maintenance of Standards of Education Act of 1976. To support
the federal Curriculum Wing, each province had also established Bureaus of Curriculum. Now the Wing
has been dissolved and the responsibility of setting up curriculum has fallen upon provinces wholly and
squarely. For the time being, none of the provinces have deviated from the curriculum last revised in
2007–2008, but it is only a matter of time that provincial bureaus of the curriculum will start modifying
the same to suit their educational needs.
Rana 75

The following three additions to the Federal List Part II are also important for education provision:

1. all regulatory authorities established under federal law;

2. standards in institutions of higher education and research; and
3. scientific and technical institutions.

The aftermath of the passage of the 18th Amendment saw considerable confusion and struggle over
the ultimate fate of the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan. Since education—including higher
education—is a provincial subject, provinces demanded devolution of the Commission to provinces. But
the Federal Government opted to retain it (at least until the expiry of the current NFC Award), as it was
responsible for standard setting for higher education including equivalence and accreditation.
Table 1 places the recent changes to the Federal and the Concurrent Lists in respect of education from
a historical perspective.
The dissolution of the Ministry of Education in 2011 was soon followed by the creation of the Ministry
of Education and Training. The new Ministry was responsible for, inter alia, establishing and managing
educational institutions within federal territories, international conventions and agreements regarding
education, the achievement of Millennium Development Goals and technical and vocational training.
At the time of its dissolution, the Ministry of Education administered seventeen subordinate organi-
zations, two attached departments, six autonomous organizations and fourteen chairs in foreign uni-
versities. An examination of the functions and departments assigned to various ministries and devolved
to provinces is interesting. It shows that the new Ministry is almost as large as its predecessor, as only
four departments/organizations have been devolved. The following organizations/departments of the
dissolved Ministry are now attached to the newly established Ministry of Education and Training:

• Higher Education Commission;

• National Vocational and Technical Training Commission;
• National Training Bureau;
• National Talent Pool;
• National Commission for Human Development;
• Academy of Educational Planning and Management;
• Akhtar Hameed Khan, National Centre for Rural Development;

Table 1.  Status of Education Policy, Planning and Curriculum in Various Constitutions

1973 Constitution
Government of 1956 1962 Before After the 18th
Subject India Act, 1935 Constitution Constitution Amendment Amendment
Right to Recognized but Recognized but Recognized but Recognized but Justiciable right
education not justiciable not justiciable not justiciable not justiciable
Education policy Provincial Provincial Provincial Concurrent Provincial subject
and planning Legislative List Legislative List Legislative List Legislative List
Curriculum Provincial Provincial Provincial Concurrent Provincial subject
Legislative List Legislative List Legislative List Legislative List
Standards in Provincial Provincial Provincial Concurrent Federal List Part II
higher education Legislative List Legislative List Legislative List Legislative List
Source: Report of Syndicate 4 (9th senior management course (SMC)), National Management College cited in Jamy et al. (2012).
76 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

• Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education;

• National Education Assessment System, and
• National Internship Programme.

Health
Like agriculture, health was also a residual subject and, therefore, fell under the provincial purview.
However, the following items (entries 20–23) in the Concurrent Legislative List enabled the Federal
Government to extend its role in this area:

• drugs and medicines;

• poisonous and dangerous drugs;
• prevention of extension of contagious and infectious diseases from one province to another; and
• mental illness and mental retardation.

Over the years, the Ministry of Health launched several vertical programmes, which further extended the
Federal Government’s outreach in primary and tertiary health care.
The abolition of the Concurrent List brought the above-mentioned subjects under the exclusive
purview of Provincial Governments. Furthermore, the inclusion in the Federal List Part II of regulatory
authorities established under federal law, planning and coordination of scientific and technical research,
and legal, medical and other professions, also enhanced provincial responsibility, as these subjects were
now under the shared responsibility of the federation and provinces.
In 2011, the Ministry of Health was abolished and most of its functions were dispersed across various
federal ministries. Considering the national importance of health, Pakistan’s international commitments
and the existence of several health-related entries in the Federal List Part II, the need to establish an
institutional hub in the Federal Government for all health-related functions was suggested by several
commentators (e.g., Nishtar, 2011). In 2013, the government created a new Ministry of National Health
Services, Regulation and Coordination, where the dispersed functions were quickly reassembled. At the
time of dissolution, the Ministry of Health was responsible for performing fifteen functions and
administered twenty-two attached departments/organizations. Appendix C provides the current status of
these functions and departments/organizations. A summary is presented below. The Federal Government
also transferred vertical programmes and provided PKR 15 billion to provinces for managing these
programmes (Jamy et al., 2012).

Functions:

Assigned to the new Ministry 12

Devolved to provinces 03

Departments/organizations:

Wound up or merged 03
Assigned to the new Ministry 15
Devolved to provinces 04

From the above data, it is evident that only one-fifth of the functions and about one-third of the federal
departments were devolved to provinces (or wound up).
Rana 77

It is noteworthy that in all the three sectors examined above, the dissolved ministries were quickly
reincarnated as new ministries in clear violation of the spirit of decentralization embodied in the 18th
Amendment.

Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that the 18th Amendment was a milestone in the constitutional
history of Pakistan. It not only restored the parliamentary character of the Constitution by returning
the functions and powers to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet that had been usurped by military
presidents over the past four decades but also made important contributions in enhancing fundamental
rights, strengthening institutions and specifying the procedure for the appointment of judges. Although
the appointment of judges became controversial immediately after the passage of the Amendment and the
procedure had to be partially modified in line with directions from the Supreme Court, it was a milestone
in settling, at least for the time being, the contentious issue of appointments to the superior judiciary.
Its most important contribution, however, was to strengthen provinces in the federation by abolishing
the Concurrent Legislative List, enlarging the Federal List Part II, strengthening CCI, reducing powers
of provincial governors and enhancing powers of the Senate. Devolution of functions to provinces and
giving them a greater role in running federal affairs was indeed a major step in correcting the historical
imbalance in federal–provincial relations. Remarkably, the parliamentary panel constituted to draft the
Amendment was able to develop political consensus on such a wide range of constitutional issues and
get this through the Parliament unanimously.
Implementation, however, proved problematic. Federal ministries identified for dissolution went back
to the Implementation Committee and made a case for their reincarnation under a different title or at least
the assignments of most of their functions to other ministries in the Federal Government. These efforts
were largely successful and eventually less than one-third of the functions and departments of dissolved
ministries were actually devolved to provinces. An examination of reassigned functions of dissolved
ministries showed that at least some of these could be conveniently devolved to Provincial Governments,
which had the required capacity and were already performing these functions. The devolution of such
functions and departments/organizations, which are clearly a provincial responsibility in the amended
Constitution, therefore, constitutes the unfinished agenda from the constitutional reform process.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship and/or publication of
this article.

Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article.

Appendix A

Summary of Major Changes Brought About by the 18th Amendment

Changes to the Constitution brought about by the 18th Amendment can be grouped into the following five
categories: (a) restoration of the parliamentary form of government; (b) strengthening key institutions;
78 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

(c) appointment of judges; (d) federation–provinces relations; and (e) miscellaneous. A summary of the
changes in each group is presented below.

I. Restoration of the parliamentary form of government

1. President’s powers were substantially reduced. All Musharraf-specific provisions were
deleted. President’s powers to dissolve assemblies or to refer a question to a referendum were
abolished. President was to appoint governors and other key personnel on the binding advice
of the Prime Minister.
2. Similar to the reduction in the powers of the President, powers of provincial governors were
also curtailed.
3. Executive authority in the federation was to be vested in the Prime Minister, rather than the
President. Rules of Business were also to be framed by the Federal Government.
4. Sixth and Seventh Schedules were deleted. The Sixth Schedule listed laws that could be
amended only after prior approval by the President and the Seventh Schedule listed laws
whose amendment required the same procedure as was required for amending the Constitution.

II. Strengthening key institutions

1. The role of the Senate was substantially enhanced. An ordinance can no longer be promul-
gated while the Senate is in session. The number of working days and members was increased.
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet were made collectively responsible to the National
Assembly as well as the Senate.
2. The Auditor General of Pakistan was given a constitutional term of 4 years.
3. The Election Commission was significantly strengthened. The term of the CEC was increased
from 3 to 5 years and the procedure for his/her appointment was altered.
4. The CCI was strengthened by making the Prime Minister its chairperson and establishing a
permanent secretariat.

III. Appointment of judges

1. The procedure for the appointment of judges to the superior judiciary was radically changed.
A Judicial Commission was constituted to nominate judges. Nominations were approved/
rejected by a parliamentary committee.
2. New benches of High Courts were set up.
3. Judges can longer be transferred from one High Court to another even for short periods with-
out their specific consent.

IV. Federation–provinces relations

1. Emergency in a province was to be imposed only with the consent of the Provincial Assembly
concerned.
2. The Concurrent Legislative List was abolished. Thus, all items included therein, except the
ones shifted to the Federal List, were transferred to provinces.
3. Several items were shifted from the Federal List Part I and the Concurrent List to Federal List
Part II, thereby making these items subject to shared federal–provincial responsibility in the
CCI.
Rana 79

4. The shares in net proceeds of royalty on crude oil and net proceeds of development surcharge
on natural gas were to be given to provinces.
5. Sales tax on services was devolved to provinces.

V. Miscellaneous
6. NWFP was renamed as KPK.
7. The definition of high treason was expanded to include an act of suspending the Constitution
or holding it in abeyance.
  1. Three new fundamental rights were created. These were: (a) right to a fair trial; (b) right to
information; and (c) right to education.
8. Article 17 was amended to do away with intra-party elections on the ground that these were
already provided in the Political Parties Act of 1962.
  2. Lifetime bar on holding political office in case of conviction by a court was removed and a
limit of 5 years from the date of release from jail was reintroduced.
9. The restriction that a person could not hold the office of the Prime Minister or the Chief
Minister for more than two terms was removed.
  3. The size of the Cabinet was specified as 11 per cent of the total membership or 49 per cent,
whichever was higher. Similar restrictions were imposed for provincial Cabinets.
  4. Provisions were made and the procedure was specified for the appointment of a caretaker
government upon the expiry of the term of a government.

Appendix B

Status of Functions and Departments of the Erstwhile Ministry of Food and Agriculture
Table B1.  Functions

No. Function Deleted/Assigned/Devolved

 1 Sugar board Deleted
 2 Socio-economic studies for framing agricultural research Deleted
policies
 3 Economic coordination and planning in respect of food Ministry of National Food Security
and Research
 4 Economic planning and policymaking in respect of agriculture Planning and Development Division
 5 Procurement of food grains, including import of sugar for Ministry of Commerce
federal requirement; Inter-Parliment supplies; and export
and storage at ports
 6 Import and export control on food grains and foodstuffs Ministry of National Food Security
and Research
 7 Inspection, grading analysis of food grains and foodstuffs and Ministry of Commerce
maintenance of standards of quality for import and export
(Table B1 continued)
80 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

(Table B1 continued)
No. Function Deleted/Assigned/Devolved
 8 Plant protection: (a) standardization and import of pesticides; Ministry of National Food Security
(b) aerial spray; (c) plant quarantine; and (d) locust control and Research
in its international aspect and maintenance of locust warning
organizations
 9 Grading of agricultural commodities other than food grains, Ministry of Commerce
for exports
10 Standardization and import of fertilizers for meeting Ministry of National Food Security
provincial requirements and Research
11 Administrative control of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage Ministry of National Food Security
and Services Corporation (PASSCO) and Research
12 Keeping watch over the food supplies (including storage) Ministry of National Food Security
position in the country and Research
13 Collection of statistics on agricultural research Federal Bureau of Statistics
14 Collection and compilation of agricultural statistics Federal Bureau of Statistics
15 Collection of statistics regarding production, consumption, Ministry of National Food Security
prices, imports and exports of food grains and Research
16 Preparation of basic plan for bulk allocation of food grains Ministry of National Food Security
and foodstuffs and Research
17 Price stabilization by fixing procurement and issue prices Ministry of National Food Security
including keeping a watch over the price of food grains and and Research
foodstuffs imported from abroad or required for export
and those required for Inter-Parliment supplies
18 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Ministry of National Food Security
Nations in respect of food and Research
19 Coordination of work relating to aid/assistance being received Ministry of National Food Security
from aid-giving agencies in respect of the food sector and Research
20 FAO of the United Nations in respect of agriculture Ministry of National Food Security
and Research
21 Coordination of work relating to aid/assistance being received Ministry of National Food Security
from aid-giving agencies in respect of agriculture sector and Research
22 Coordination of aid/assistance from international aid-giving Ministry of National Food Security
agencies and FAO in respect of agricultural research, and Research
including manpower training for research
23 Agricultural Research Council: Agricultural commodities Ministry of National Food Security
research and Research
24 Seed testing and seed certification Ministry of National Food Security
and Research
25 Agricultural commodities research, Federal Agricultural Ministry of National Food Security
Research Organizations and Research
26 Research for the introduction of improved germ plasma of Ministry of National Food Security
both plant and animal origin. and Research
27 Inter-Parliment coordination and coordination between the Ministry of National Food Security
centre and the provinces in respect of agricultural research, and Research
including training of high-level agriculture scientists.
(Table B1 continued)
Rana 81

(Table B1 continued)
No. Function Deleted/Assigned/Devolved
28 Administrative control of the Pakistan Central Cotton Ministry of Textile Industry
Committee with participation and inputs of the Textile
Industry Division
29 Economic studies for framing agriculture policy Devolved
30 Farm management research for planning project Devolved
formulation and evaluation
31 Crops forecast and estimation, crop insurance Devolved
32 Marketing intelligence Devolved
33 Agricultural commodity research (marketing research and Devolved
laboratory research for laying down national grades)
34 Soil survey, a comprehensive inventory of the soil resources Devolved
of the country and their proper utilization
35 Introduction of special crops such as jute, tea, olive, etc. Devolved
36 Standardization of agricultural machinery Devolved
37 Underdeveloped areas including identification Devolved
of underdeveloped areas; and the fields in which an area
is underdeveloped; and measures necessary to remove the
causes of underdevelopment in different areas.
38 Economic planning and coordination with regard to Devolved
cooperatives
39 High-level manpower training for agricultural research Devolved
Source: Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Table B2.  Departments

No. Department Wound Up/Assigned/Devolved

 1 Agricultural & Livestock Products Marketing & Wound up
Grading Department, Islamabad
 2 Directorate of Food Accounts, Islamabad Wound up
 3 Pakistan Oilseed Development Board, Islamabad Wound up
 4 Directorate General of Food, Karachi Wound up
 5 Pakistan Dairy Development Company (PDDC) Assigned to the Cabinet Division for winding up
 6 Department of Plant Protection, Karachi Assigned to the Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
 7 PASSCO, Lahore Assigned to the Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
 8 Agricultural Policy Institute, Islamabad Assigned to the Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
 9 Federal Seed Certification & Registration, Islamabad Assigned to the Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
10 Pakistan Agricultural Research Council Assigned to the Ministry of National Food
Security and Research
(Table B2 continued)
82 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

(Table B2 continued)

No. Department Wound Up/Assigned/Devolved

11 Pakistan Central Cotton Committee, Multan Assigned to the Ministry of Textile Industry
12 Soil Survey of Pakistan, Lahore Devolved to the Government of Punjab
Source: Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

Appendix C

Status of Functions and Departments of the Erstwhile Ministry of Health

Table C1.  Functions

No. Functions Deleted/Devolved/Assigned

 1 National Planning and Coordination in the field of Health Ministry of NHSRC
 2 Dealings and agreements with other countries and international Ministry of NHSRC
organizations in the fields of health, drug and medical facilities
abroad
 3 International aspects of medical facilities and public health: Devolved
International Health Regulations: Port health; health and medical
facilities abroad
 4 Scholarships/fellowships, training courses in health from Ministry of NHSRC
international Agencies such as WHO and UNICEF
 5 Medical, nursing, dental, pharmaceutical, paramedical and allied Devolved, except to the extent
subjects of Federal areas
 6 Maintenance of educational standards education abroad and Ministry of NHSRC
educational facilities for backward areas and for foreign nationals,
except the nomination of candidates form Federally Administration
Tribal Areas for admission to Medical College
 7 Standardization and manufacture of biological and pharmaceutical Ministry of NHSRC
products
 8 Vital Health Statistics Federal Bureau of Statistics
 9 Medical and health services for Federal Government employees Ministry of NHSRC
10 National Associations in a medical and allied field such as the Red Ministry of NHSRC
Crescent Society and T.B. Association
11 Red Crescent Society and T.B. Association. Red Crescent Society Red Crescent Society and TB
and T.B. Association
12 Legislation pertaining to drugs and medicines, including narcotics Ministry of NHSRC
and psychotropic, but excluding functions assigned to Pakistan
Narcotics Control; Administration of Drugs Act 1976, and Poisons
and dangerous drugs

(Table C1 continued)
Rana 83

(Table C1 continued)
No. Functions Deleted/Devolved/Assigned
13 Prevention of the extension from one province to another of Devolved
infectious and contagious diseases.
14 Lunacy and Mental deficiency Devolved
15 Administrative control of the Pakistan Medical Research Council Ministry of NHSRC
16 Administrative control of the National Institute of Handicapped Ministry of NHSRC
Islamabad
Source: Ministry of Health.
Note: *Ministry of NHSRC: Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination.

Table C2.  Departments

No. Pre-18th Amendment After the 18th Amendment Assigned to

 1 Pakistan Medical and Dental Council Ministry of NHSRC
 2 Pakistan Nursing Council Ministry of NHSRC
 3 College of Physicians and Surgeons Ministry of NHSRC
 4 National Council for Tibb Ministry of NHSRC
 5 National Council for Homeopaths Ministry of NHSRC
 6 Pharmacy Council of Pakistan Ministry of NHSRC
 7 National Institute of Health Ministry of NHSRC
 8 Proposed Drug Regulatory Agency Ministry of NHSRC
 9 PIMS Ministry of NHSRC
10 Federal Government Services Hospital Islamabad Ministry of NHSRC
11 Directorate of Malaria Control. Islamabad To be wound up
12 National Health Information Resource Centre, Lahore Merged with National Institute of Health
13 Health Services Academy, Islamabad Ministry of NHSRC
14 Federal Dental and Medical College, Islamabad Ministry of NHSRC
15 Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Karachi Government of Sindh
16 National Institute of Child Health, Karachi Government of Sindh
17 Directorate of Central Health Establishment, Karachi Ministry of NHSRC
18 National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi Government of Sindh
19 Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zaid Hospital, Quetta Government of Balochistan
20 Tobacco Control Cell N/A
21 Vertical programmes To provinces
22 National Health Emergency Preparedness and Ministry of NHSRC*
Response Network
Source: Ministry of Health.
Note: *Ministry of NHSRC: Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination.
84 Asian Journal of Management Cases 17(1)

Notes
1. See Rizvi (2002) for the text of various constitutions.
2. Section 5 of the amended 1935 Act.
3. A new province with the name West Pakistan had been created in 1954 by merging Punjab, Sindh and NWFP,
and states and tribal areas of the Western Wing.
4. The word ‘Islamic’ was also dropped, but it was brought back through the 1st Amendment in 1963 and Pakistan
became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
5. Hamid (2010) notes that the comprehensive nature of the Amendment was necessitated by the need to develop
consensus.
6. Though some provisions were reintroduced through the 18th Amendment.
7. Three Provincial Governments, Punjab, Sindh and KPK, have passed laws for freedom of information within
their respective jurisdictions. These provinces have also created institutions for making information available to
citizens. However, on-ground implementation remains problematic. Provinces face severe challenges due to the
culture of secrecy, poor record-keeping and general incapacity.
8. Cabinet Division’s Notification No. 4-14/2011-min-I; dated 26 October 2011.

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