PPP stalwart and former Senate President Raza Rabbani on Tuesday said the recently proposed changes to the Constitution, if passed, would amount to a rollback of the much-touted 18th Amendment.
Yesterday, the ruling PML-N party’s coalition partner PPP revealed that the government had approached him for support in passing the 27th Constitutional Amendment. The key features were heavily criticized by lawyers and politicians, who called them an attempt to revoke provincial rights granted in the 18th Amendment.
“The constitutional amendments proposed by the federal government, with reference to provincial autonomy, amount to a reversal of the 18th Amendment,” Rabbani said in a statement.
The 18th Amendment, passed in 2010, had allayed the concerns of the provinces by devolving various ministries and departments of the Centre, including education and population, to them.
“In the fragile internal political situation, playing with provincial autonomy will cast deep shadows on the federation,” the veteran politician warned.
Noting that the 18th Amendment “disarmed extreme nationalists of political speech,” Rabbani said the suggested changes “will invigorate their extra-constitutional activities.”
The PPP leader also highlighted that reviewing the devolved ministries will be a “financial burden” on the federal government. “Remembering the financial return will go against the scheme [of] Participatory federalism,” he added.
“If the federal government is incapable of managing its finances, then let the provinces collect all taxes and take care of federal expenses through the Council of Common Interests,” the former senator proposed.
Minister of State for Law and Justice, Advocate Aqeel Malik, confirmed that discussions on the amendment had been and were still ongoing, but added that the government has not properly started working on a draft.
Even in December 2023, several senior PPP leaders opposed revoking or altering the guarantees established by the 18th Amendment, a position of the party that puts it at odds with that of the PML-N.
Over the past few years, Rabbani (PPP senator when the 18th Amendment was passed) has repeatedly expressed his strong objection to making changes to the laws introduced therein.
In 2019, he accused the PTI government of conspiring to roll back the 18th Amendment, which he highlighted guaranteed provincial autonomy.
In 2015, the PPP senator cried after voting in the Upper House of Parliament for the 21st Amendment to establish military courts in the country, saying he had voted for it against his own conscience.
