pakistan’s

Whatever the reconfiguration of center-provincial relations envisaged in the 18th Amendment,
the fundamental structural and jurisdictional ambiguities remain unresolved, especially as they
relate to internal security. In the absence of any coherent policy to combat terrorism and to deal
with the jihadi and militant groups, the central government failed to provide any guidelines to
the provinces on how to tackle the problem of growing extremism and militancy. As a result, each
province was let to devise its own strategy based primarily on its own limited intelligence and
operational resources.
An Examination of Crucial Superstructures
Parliament
A major achievement of the 18th Amendment was to restore the parliamentary character of
the 1973 constitution. The amendment transferred almost all executive powers from the president
to the prime minister: the prime minister was no longer bound to consult, but just to inform,
the president on policy matters; presidential power to dismiss the elected parliament and the
government was abolished; and all major federal appointments were to be made by the prime
minister or by the president with the consent of the prime minister. As a result, the country
returned from a semi-presidential system to a parliamentary one. Nevertheless, under President
Asif Ali Zardari, who was the center of political power as co-chairman of the PPP, neither the
prime minister nor the parliament were able to exercise any power independent of the presidency.
The situation drastically changed, however, with the PML-N government elected in May 2013.
Today, President Mamnoon Hussain acts as a typical ceremonial head of state in a parliamentary
system of government, while Prime Minister Sharif exercises all powers of the federation.
In Pakistan, elected parliaments have rarely acted as independent lawmaking institutions and
have almost always followed the lead of the executive branch headed by the prime minister. Even
in its most important function of approving the annual budget, the parliament’s performance
has been lackluster. Members of parliament are oten more interested in their own perks and
privileges, distribution of spoils, and allocation of development funds for their constituencies.
There are 32 standing committees of the National Assembly and 28 standing committees of the
Senate dealing with the subjects under the purview of the federal government, but in many cases
they play little to no role in the legislative process. Federal ministers rarely attend the meetings
of these standing committees, and the standing committees lack professional staff to provide the
members with research assistance and policy inputs.
Having said that, the National Assembly over the past few years has been quite vocal in
representing the public sentiments on such issues as deteriorating law and order, especially in
Karachi; the insurgencies in FATA and Baluchistan; and the new national security policy. Thus,
the parliament may not be that effective in formulating, directing, and monitoring public policies,
but it certainly provides an important forum for airing the views and frustrations of the general
public on issues of national importance.
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NBR
Local Government Institutions
Despite their long history, local government institutions in Pakistan have not played an effective
role in the governance process. Political parties have always been ambivalent about the idea of local
elections, fearing infighting within their ranks over the distribution of party tickets to candidates at
SPECIAL REPORT u FEBRUARY 2016