18th Amendment

KP's petition before the Federal Constitutional Court seeks Rs964bn as its claimed tax revenue share since the Fata merger in 2018, raising constitutional and fiscal questions about Pakistan's federal structure. The article highlights concerns over the National Finance Commission's dysfunction, the validity of an NFC Award based on outdated data, and the need to convene the Council of Common Interests to address provincial autonomy and resource distribution.

The World Bank's report on Pakistan's fiscal federalism is criticized for being a technocratic exercise that overlooks political economy factors. It highlights institutional weaknesses and recommends reforms like clearer expenditure assignments and stronger provincial revenue mobilization, but fails to address the political incentives driving fiscal imbalances and intergovernmental conflicts.

A World Bank report on the NFC Award post-18th Amendment highlights that 80% of provincial spending in health and education goes toward salaries, with minimal improvement in service indicators. Local government funding has declined significantly, and provinces have failed to establish fair distribution mechanisms, while political parties have entrenched power in their respective provinces through patronage systems.

The World Bank's report on Pakistan's fiscal federalism is technically strong but politically naive, highlighting unresolved issues in fiscal distribution and constitutional amendments. It criticizes the federal government's delay in implementing subsequent finance commission awards and its role in creating a structural federal fiscal deficit.

Pakistan's unified agriculture income tax regime collected only Rs5.62bn, less than 2% of declared agricultural income, highlighting systemic failures due to political resistance and institutional weaknesses. Provincial governments, influenced by landed elites, failed to enforce the tax effectively despite IMF-backed reforms.

A World Bank report highlights that Pakistan's 18th Amendment and 7th NFC Award aimed to strengthen fiscal federalism by decentralizing powers and resources to provinces. However, implementation has been ineffective, with federal deficits, provincial inefficiency in revenue mobilization, and weak local governance undermining progress. The report emphasizes incomplete devolution, governance failures, and the need for reforms like improving provincial revenue and empowering local governments.

PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari addressed the National Assembly, linking regional peace to economic development and highlighting security challenges with Afghanistan and India. He emphasized constitutional measures to reallocate funds for national security and dismissed rumors about constitutional amendments.

Fafen calls for legal and institutional reforms to strengthen Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's underutilized Right to Information Act, citing weak enforcement, structural gaps, and vulnerabilities to disinformation. The policy brief highlights issues like incomplete proactive disclosure by public bodies and the Information Commission's lack of autonomy.

The federal government in Pakistan is demanding provinces freeze their share of federal tax revenues and return excess amounts to the center, amid an IMF-mandated fiscal crisis. Provinces resist, citing structural tax issues and constitutional concerns over the NFC award and 18th Amendment, which guarantee provincial autonomy.

The budget delay highlights a fiscal deadlock between Pakistan's federal government and provinces over frozen NFC shares and additional funding demands. Critics argue the Centre is undermining the 18th Amendment and 7th NFC Award by pressuring provinces to return funds, risking a backdoor revision of the fiscal arrangement.

A Catawba-YouGov survey shows North Carolinians strongly support constitutional checks and balances despite pessimism about the nation’s political future. The article criticizes the overuse of constitutional amendments in North Carolina for political purposes, contrasting it with the U.S. Constitution’s rare amendments and evolving interpretation through court decisions.