The Punjab government is all set to challenge Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani’s decision to create three ministries with disputed departments of the devolved ministries to accommodate the PML-Q’s portfolio-less ministers, in the Supreme Court. The prime minister had practically rejected Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s demand of transferring some departments of the devolved ministries to the provinces by creating the three new ministries.
Shahbaz has written to the prime minister twice about the ‘incomplete’ devolution of the ministries. He has also demanded the prime minister to summon a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on a number of occasions to resolve differences between the federal and provincial governments on the retention of some important departments like the Employees Old-age Benefit Institution (EOBI), Workers Welfare Fund (WWF), Evacuee Property Trust Board (EPTB) etc by the federal government.
“By placing the EOBI and the WWF under a newly-created Ministry of Human Resource Development and the EPTB under the National Harmony, the PPP-led coalition government has sent a clear message to the Punjab government that these lucrative departments would never be handed over to the provinces. The federal government is also not calling a meeting of the CCI. Therefore the PML-N government in Punjab is now left with no option but to head to the Supreme Court,” a source in the Punjab government said.
In his last letter to the prime minister sent two weeks ago, Shahbaz had said that the devolution process had not been completed yet. He had claimed that the federal government was retaining some departments of devolved ministries unconstitutionally. The Punjab chief minister had also raised objections on transferring of hunting areas for foreign dignitaries from the ministry of environment to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He had said in the letter that the seed testing and certification had been transferred from the food ministry to the Ministry Of Science And Technology unconstitutionally. “All these decisions are wholly unconstitutional, being a negation of devolution as mandated by the 18th Amendment,” Shahbaz had written.
Before embarking upon his private tour to the UK, Gilani had promised Shahbaz that these matters would be decided in a meeting upon his return, but contrary to his commitment, Gilani formed three new ministries with divisions namely the Ministries of National Harmony, Human Resource Development and Professional and Technical Training and placed the disputed departments under them to please the PML-Q.
A source in the government said the PM had already told the Punjab CM that the WWF and the EOBI would not be handed over to provinces. Senator Pervez Rashid, spokesman of the Punjab government, said as the federal government had neither replied positively to the Punjab chief minister’s letters nor summoned a meeting of the CCI to resolve the dispute amicably, the PML-N was left with one option but to approach the Supreme Court.