Khawaja Asif says political parties have systematically sidelined local governments
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif speaks during an interview with British-American journalist Mehdi Hasan on his show Mehdi Unfiltered. SCREENSHOT
LAHORE:
Defense Minister Khawaja Asif acknowledged Saturday that Pakistan’s political parties have consistently sidelined local governments despite their proven role in strengthening popular politics, warning that this neglect has weakened civilian rule itself.
Speaking at a panel discussion titled “Decentralization for Revolution” at ThinkFest, the Defense Minister argued that the failure to institutionalize local empowered bodies was not accidental but a consequence of policy choices made over time.
The session was attended by Vice Chancellor of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Ali Cheema, former State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain and former MP Mary James Gill.
Reflecting on Pakistan’s political history, Asif noted that three military rulers, namely Ayub Khan, Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf, remained in power longer than any civilian government, largely because they introduced local government systems and derived political legitimacy and strength from them.
He acknowledged that the failure of civilian governments to do the same amounted to “a political failure on our part.”
He pointed out that local elections, regardless of when they were held, were historically much less controversial than national polls. “Yet we continued to avoid them,” he said, regretting the continued reluctance to delegate power.
Asif recalled that local authorities had been included in the Charter of Democracy signed by the PPP and the PML-N in 2006.
However, this commitment failed to secure an adequate place in the 18th constitutional amendment, even though most of the other agreed reforms were incorporated. He added that resistance to grassroots empowerment came largely from the bureaucracy, which feared losing its authority to elected representatives.
The discussion then turned to constitutional and fiscal reforms, with former State Bank Governor Dr Ishrat Hussain remarking that while the 18th Amendment clearly demarcated the roles of the federal and provincial governments, it failed to properly define the functions and powers of local governments.
“This ambiguity continues to create political and administrative friction,” he said.
Dr Hussain argued that the amendment should have included provisions for a provincial finance commission to directly channel funds to underdeveloped areas within provinces.
Strong local governments, he added, would not only improve development efficiency but could also “generate their own revenues by improving tax collection and identifying new sources of revenue.”
He added that if institutions such as the Lahore Development Authority, Water and Sanitation Agency and other civic bodies were brought under the authority of an elected mayor, municipal administrations would become financially stronger and more autonomous.
