KARACHI: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) stalwart and former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani on Tuesday warned that the recently proposed constitutional changes, if enacted, would effectively roll back the landmark 18th Amendment that ensured provincial autonomy.
His statement came a day after the PPP revealed that the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government had approached it for support in passing a *27th Constitutional Amendment*. The proposed changes have sparked criticism from legal experts and political figures, who see them as an attempt to undermine the provincial rights guaranteed under the 18th Amendment.
“The proposed constitutional amendments of the federal government, with reference to provincial autonomy, amount to a rollback of the 18th Amendment,” Rabbani said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The 18th Amendment, passed in 2010, was considered a milestone in Pakistan’s democratic evolution, devolving key ministries and departments — including education, health, and population welfare — from the federal government to the provinces.
“In the brittle internal political situation, playing with provincial autonomy will cast deep shadows over the federation,” the veteran politician warned. He further stated that tampering with the amendment would revive old divisions, noting that the 18th Amendment had “disarmed the extreme nationalists of a political discourse” and that reversing it would “lend vigour to their extra-constitutional activities.”
Rabbani also cautioned that revisiting devolved ministries would impose a “financial burden” on the federal government. “Recalling the financial devolution will be against the scheme of participatory federalism,” he said, suggesting that if Islamabad could not manage its finances, provinces should be allowed to collect taxes and fund federal expenditures through the Council of Common Interests.
Minister of State for Law and Justice Barrister Aqeel Malik confirmed ongoing discussions on the matter but clarified that no formal draft had yet been prepared.
The PPP, a key coalition partner of the PML-N, has consistently opposed any attempts to amend or dilute the 18th Amendment. Rabbani, one of its chief architects, has repeatedly defended it over the years, accusing successive governments of attempting to roll it back under various pretexts.
