DAWN Editorials - 14th August 2025

[zarnishhayat]

Devolution debate FOR years, forces favouring a stronger centre have pushed for rolling back some aspects of the 18th Amendment to curtail provincial powers and revise the National Finance Commission in order to shore up the centre’s strained finances.

The debate — fuelled by Islamabad’s chronic fiscal stress — is sustained by the belief that reducing revenue transfers to the provinces would provide an easy, if contentious, fix to the federal government’s fiscal woes. It is argued that the centre has to bear major expenses such as debt payments, defence needs, large infrastructure development, subsidies, social protection, etc, while the provinces get the majority share from the federal divisible pool.

Many also say that the enhanced NFC transfers have lulled the provinces into a state of fiscal complacency, leading to weak revenue-generation efforts. There has also been criticism that the provinces spend the funds to gain political mileage for the ruling parties, instead of investing in the social sector or public service delivery.

It is against this background that PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari has demanded a new NFC award — in accordance with the 18th Amendment, which devolved several ministries, departments and functions from the centre to the provinces.

He said the previous award preceded the amendment, and that since devolution had increased the responsibilities of the provinces, they should have more resources. This implies a demand for further raising the provincial share from the divisible pool from the present 57.5pc. He also spoke about the deteriorating security situation in Balochistan to reinforce his case for a bigger provincial share from federal revenue transfers, and blamed the FBR’s incompetence for not collecting enough taxes to address federal fiscal woes, saying this burden could not be shared by the provinces.

Mr Bhutto-Zardari’s demand is consistent with his party’s politics: the PPP played a dominant role in both the 2009 NFC award and passage of the 18th Amendment, and deserves credit for resisting repeated attempts to reverse fiscal devolution and alter the existing revenue-sharing framework.

However, whatever differences of opinion there may be, there is no doubt that the NFC award does require an overhaul — not to shrink the provincial pie but to make the framework operate effectively and efficiently for citizens.

For this to happen, the centre and provinces must engage in meaningful discussions to devolve powers and transfer fiscal resources further down to the third tier of governance — the local governments. Equally important are changes in the formula for resource distribution among the provinces.

The disproportionate emphasis on population should be reduced in favour of indicators such as poverty, regional backwardness and disparities, and, more importantly, provincial revenue generation efforts to ensure quality public service delivery and promote more equitable and sustainable economic development.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2025

Soft target IT must, no doubt, be deeply troubling to the state that terrorist outfits have taken to repeatedly targeting the Jaffar Express, as if to signal that they can resort to sabotage whenever they wish and get away with it. Earlier this week, six bogies of the passenger train derailed when a bomb attack tore up the railway track in Balochistan’s Dasht tehsil in Mastung district. Thankfully, no loss of life was reported. But one can imagine the terror the ill-fated train’s passengers must have experienced. There were 350 on board, travelling from Quetta to Peshawar, when the train derailed. Their minds must inevitably have wandered to the tragedy that occurred merely five months earlier on the same train, when the BLA had used a very similar method to stop and hijack it. They must have thought of the dozens killed during the rescue operation to liberate the passengers from the terrorists. In short, they would have felt very vulnerable. And this is, perhaps, precisely what the terrorists operating in the region wanted. It bears highlighting that this was the second bomb attack on the same train in just four days.

In fact, since the March 11 tragedy, the Jaffar Express seems to have become a first-choice target for terrorist outfits, likely because it is a symbol of Balochistan’s connectedness to the other provinces. The repeated attempts to ambush it are a recurring reminder that the state faces an uphill battle in quelling Balochistan’s unrest. It is fortunate that, since March, there has been no reported loss of life in these attacks. But given their frequency and the state’s seeming inability to prevent them, the fear remains that another major tragedy could be right around the corner. It is the state that should take responsibility and act to pre-empt it. There is an urgent need to reassess the strategies being adopted to manage Balochistan’s growing sociopolitical unrest, especially as observers believe it is feeding the violence breaking out across the province. Many appeals have been made to the state to exercise more restraint, especially when dealing with the province’s social and political leadership, as the dismissal of all dissent as treachery and anti-national sentiment is alienating Balochistan’s ordinary people. Such policies are not making the province any safer. The Jaffar Express’s travails are merely a reminder of this.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2025

Defeated again WHEN it ended, Pakistan’s victory in the opening One-day International against the West Indies seemed like a distant memory. In fact, by the time the West Indies recorded their biggest victory over Pakistan in the third ODI for their first series win against the side in 34 years, it looked as if Mohammad Rizwan’s team had not wanted to play the series at all. Pakistan had reportedly wanted the ODIs to be replaced with Twenty20 matches, but were rebuffed by the hosts; ultimately, they looked like a side without identity. They have now lost eight of their last nine ODIs; even the change of head coach failed to revive their fortunes. The situation is cause for alarm, especially with the 50-over World Cup two years away. Something is not working — even though there were some positives like the lower order depth provided by Hasan Nawaz and Hussain Talal. Coach Mike Hesson spoke of the need for more substance from the top order; senior batters Rizwan and Babar Azam scored well only in the first game that was won thanks to a sterling partnership between Hasan and Hussain. Openers Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique failed to inspire; they departed for ducks in the series-deciding third ODI where Pakistan went down for just 92 while chasing 295.

Another problem area noted by the coach was the death overs bowling — a phase of the game where Pakistan have been out of their depth lately. Those ghosts reappeared to haunt Pakistan on Tuesday when 100 runs were conceded in the last seven overs to put the West Indies in the driving seat. Impressive Jayden Seales proved unplayable with Pakistan’s top four failing to go past single digits. The West Indies had come into the series placed 10th in ODI rankings, six places below Pakistan. Those placings meant nothing ultimately, with the West Indies showing they are on the rise, while Pakistan is stuck in a rut.

Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2025