Implementation Commission on 18th Amendment Chairman Senator Raza Rabbani has said that a ‘big no’ to the demand made by Wasim Sajjad, the PML-Q member of the commission, who sought reviewing the decision to devolve the ministries, held by his party’s ministers.
According to a source, Rabbani told the Q leaguer if the devolution process was ‘roughed up’ either by the commission or the Parliament, the matter could be challenged in a court of law in light of the 18th Amendment. During the meeting of the commission, the source said, Wasim demanded that devolution process of the ministries directly related to the federation should be reviewed. He told Pakistan Today that his party did not oppose the devolution of the ministries which were a part of the concurrent list.
“But my party wants that all institutions and attached departments of the devolved ministries, which were on the federal list, should be made functional in an arranged manner so as these may not be mishandled. For instance, the Ministry of Health has to be devolved but its Drug Control Authority has to remain with the federal government.” He said that the PML-Q wanted that all similar interlinked departments should be kept under one domain.
Meanwhile, the meeting of implementation commission held on Saturday discussed the matters related to those departments of ministries of Minority Affairs and Food and Agriculture which would remain with the federal government. On the other hand, Rabbani said allocations in the new budget had also been made for those federal government departments which were connected with ministries being devolved to the provinces.
He was talking to media after in-camera meeting of the commission. Under the 18th Amendment, 17 federal ministries are to be devolved to the provinces by June 30 while the process for many ministries had already been completed.
