–Bilawal says federal govt isn’t coordinating with provinces in fight against coronavirus outbreak
–Ahsan accuses govt of encroaching on 18th Amendment, warns against meddling with provincial autonomy
–Qureshi says govt has no intention of doing away with 18th Amendment, but there’s a need to review it
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Monday accused the federal government of encroaching on the rights of the provinces, as the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) said that it had no intention of doing away with the 18th Amendment.
In an interview with BBC Urdu, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari said that the federal government was interpreting the 18th Amendment incorrectly.
He said this in reference to the disparity between the anti-coronavirus measures of the federal and provincial governments. He added that there is a need for unity between the Centre and the provinces.
He accused Prime Minister Imran Khan of distancing himself from the provinces and their problems. “It is the responsibility of the country’s leadership to take difficult decisions in the event of a national crisis. But this will be the first time that the Centre and the prime minister have announced their disengagement from the provinces,” he said.
Referring to the recent efforts of the federal government to bring some major hospitals of Sindh under its control, Bilawal said, “The 18th Amendment is ignored when the Centre wants to snatch the hospitals from Sindh, but when there is an pandemic all over the world and the country is in war like situation, the Centre is talking about the 18th Amendment.”
Talking about the responsibilities of the federal government, Bilawal said that if the Centre has no role to play after the 18th Amendment, then why is there a National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) in the country and why is there a federal health secretary.
Stressing the need for unity to fight the deadly virus, he said, “Statements of the prime minister are very irresponsible. Every province is trying to deal with the situation to the best of its ability, but even then, Centre is busy in criticism”.
Talking about the perception of tensions between the Centre and Sindh, Bilawal said that the federal government criticised the most successful province “to hide its incompetence”.
Separately, PML-N leader Ahsan Iqbal said that the 18th Amendment came about as a result of national consensus and any attempts to meddle with it would result in further controversy.
The former planning minister asked that when the amendment was passed unanimously by all parties, then why is it being disturbed, especially in this time of distress for the country.
He said that the government’s priority should be to overcome the coronavirus pandemic, not set its sight on the 18th Amendment.
He accused the government of spreading political hatred instead of reaching out to provincial governments and working together. He advised the government to reinstate local governments to help fight the virus effectively instead of encroaching on the 18th Amendment.
Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said that while the government has no intention of revoking the 18th Amendment, the situation arising out of the coronavirus outbreak requires a thorough review of the constitutional amendment through bilateral consultations.
Speaking to the media at Parliament House after attending the fourth meeting of Parliamentary Committee on Coronavirus, the foreign minister said that although the importance of 18th Amendment vis a vis the provincial autonomy could not be denied, yet there was a need to see whether its objectives were achieved.
He said that if the provinces’ practice of looking towards the Centre despite getting enhanced share in national resources after devolution of power through the 18th Amendment continued, then there was a need to sit together and review the situation.
The foreign minister said that the provinces got various incentives from the Centre under the 18th Amendment but did not pass on the same to lower levels.
He said that as the federal government only gets resources for current expenditures, debt servicing and defence under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award after 18th Amendment, all the stakeholders should sit together to discuss and review the distribution of resources before a new NFC Award.
Earlier while speaking during the meeting of the parliamentary committee, the minister said that there was no problem between the federal and Sindh governments except the difference of opinion on the issue of lockdown.
He said that despite a general impression that there was an effective lockdown in Karachi, coronavirus cases in the provincial metropolis were increasing.
The committee also unanimously approved a resolution demanding immediate release of the traders arrested in Karachi on Sunday.
