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Pakistan's federation restructuring seen as an opportunistic move to dismantle democracy
🇵🇰 Pakistan /Elections & Politics

Pakistan's federation restructuring seen as an opportunistic move to dismantle democracy

From Dawn · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

Analysis Sources not specified Context piece
  • The article argues that recent discussions about restructuring Pakistan's federation are driven by opportunistic elements seeking to dismantle democratic forces and establish a unitary state.
  • It contends that political parties, controlling provincial governments, are the primary carriers of the people's will and are being targeted by non-democratic forces.
  • The piece links the political struggle to an underlying conflict over resources, occurring amidst Pakistan's difficult economic stabilization program.

The ongoing conversation about rebuilding Pakistan's federation on new foundations has exposed opportunistic individuals eager to dismantle democratic structures, according to the article. These elements, it suggests, lack a chance in a functioning democracy and are pushing for a return to a unitary state reminiscent of the 1960s.

None of this is about bringing ‘good governance’. Those are pious words that are always used to mask impious intentions.

— Article authorCritiquing the stated motives behind proposed federal restructuring.

The article asserts that these intentions are masked by talk of "good governance" but are fundamentally about undermining the strongholds of democratic forces, the political parties. It identifies the PTI, PML-N, and PPP as the main parties, each controlling a provincial government and sustained by provincial resources and powers. Without this control, their national influence would diminish, similar to the PML-Q's fate after losing federal government control.

The democratic forces are the political parties, which with all their inadequacies and imperfections, are the only carriers of the people’s will in our society today.

— Article authorIdentifying the key players in Pakistan's political landscape.

This situation, the author argues, is precisely what the 18th Amendment and the associated NFC award were designed to prevent. By strengthening provinces and endowing them with resources, the amendment aimed to create "little fortresses" for civilian, democratically based power centers to retreat to when non-democratic forces reassert themselves. The interior minister's recent remarks about the "system having collapsed" and the need for a new federal structure are seen as the initial signs of this non-democratic pushback.

The idea was to build little fortresses around the country into which civilian, democratically based power centres could retreat when the inevitable reassertion of non-democratic power came.

— Article authorExplaining the purpose of the 18th Amendment.

Underlying this political contest is a struggle over resources and their distribution. Pakistan has been engaged in a challenging economic stabilization program since July 2023, which has stifled growth and burdened citizens and capital owners to rebuild fiscal and foreign exchange buffers. However, these buffers remain far from rebuilt. The State Bank's hints about reaching reserve targets by December suggested a shift towards financing private sector activity, but the government's announcement of subsidized credit schemes, potentially breaching IMF commitments, indicates a move away from stabilization and towards growth.

the system has collapsed

— Interior ministerQuoted as suggesting a need for a new federal structure.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dawn in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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