PPP leader says it is not possible to roll back the 18th amendment; Committed to protecting Parliament from institutional excesses
PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari addresses a public rally in Sukkur via video link. Photo: PPI
KARACHI:
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has warned that any attempt to dilute provincial rights enshrined in the 18th Amendment or tamper with the award of the National Finance Commission (NFC) would jeopardize the federation itself.
The Bhutto scion, whose party is a key ally of the PML-N coalition at the Centre, warned that forces seeking to roll back fiscal and administrative autonomy were “playing with fire”.
Addressing the PPP’s 58th Foundation Day gathering via video link from Bilawal House on Sunday, Bilawal said recent proposals floated by the PML-N during deliberations on the 27th Amendment signaled a dangerous push to claw back devolved powers, reverse gains made under the 18th Amendment and weaken provincial financial protections.
“These people who are trying to play with the NFC Award, the 18th Amendment or other similar issues, or planning to do so, it’s like they are playing with fire.”
“Had the provincial financial protections been removed, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan would have suffered massive economic losses,” he said, crediting the PPP for blocking the moves.
The PPP chairman pledged to continue safeguarding NFC allocations, provincial autonomy and democratic rights. “Pakistan’s economy depends on each province, on the gold of Balochistan, the coal of Thar, the trade of Karachi, the farmers of Punjab, the labor of Peshawar and the youth of Lahore. We will honor these sacrifices and expand their rights,” he said.
“They (PML-N) wanted to bring back the executive magistracy system; they wanted to recover the subjects of education and population control which had been devolved to the provinces in the 18th amendment. [ ] Likewise, the government had other wishes,” he noted.
“I have protected your rights and, God willing, I will continue to do so,” he said, adding that the PPP was ready to throw its weight behind a decision that would strengthen the federation. “But the PPP can never support a decision that would weaken the federation or by which the rights of a province would be usurped.”
“The PPP believes that there were a lot of fault lines in this country and they remain,” Bilawal noted, saying his party had historically sought to repair these fault lines by guaranteeing provinces their rights, ensuring adequate representation and reviving democratic norms.
The PPP president also pledged to defend Parliament’s authority to legislate and review constitutional decisions.
He warned that institutional excesses and extra-parliamentary interventions had historically damaged the federation, the economy as well as public trust.
“No institution outside Parliament can overstep this area. When institutions interfere in parliamentary competence, the federation and its people suffer. We will defend this space,” he said.
Bilawal warned that Pakistan’s internal vulnerabilities, including political discord and simmering grievances, could once again be exploited by hostile forces, urging the state to combine military force with “soft power” to defeat terrorism and defend national cohesion.
He praised the armed forces for downing seven Indian aircraft during the May War, saying Pakistan had enhanced its global stature while India, despite military humiliation, continued to “conspire against Pakistan”.
Noting that Pakistan faces a new wave of terrorism spurred by growing estrangement from Afghanistan and external interference, he warned that political divisions, if weaponized, could fracture the state from within, allowing enemies to exploit “Pakistan’s fault lines.”
The PPP remains the only party that pursues a “positive policy” aimed at stabilizing the federation and strengthening democracy, he added.
He also stressed that Pakistan’s economic recovery required decentralization of powers and resources rather than their centralization. “The country will progress when powers are transferred to the lowest levels.”
Bilawal called the establishment of the Constitutional Court, under the Charter of Democracy, a “historic success” that fulfilled a broken promise of Benazir Bhutto and ensured equal provincial representation.
He added that this corrected long-standing judicial imbalances dating back to the “judicial murder” of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a trauma that scarred both the federation and the justice system.
