ISLAMABAD — The Senate Functional Committee on Devolution on Friday raised serious concerns over the central government’s re-establishment of federal ministries handling subjects that were legally transferred to the provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Chairing the meeting at Parliament House, Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro stated that after the final devolution notifications were issued in 2011, transferring 17 ministries to provincial control, the subsequent recreation of federal ministries dealing with those same subjects constituted a clear violation of the Constitution. To address these structural discrepancies, the committee officially formed a sub-committee to formally investigate these alleged constitutional breaches.
Senator Ghumro highlighted that the federal apparatus has expanded to 31 ministries, even though the constitutional framework originally envisioned only nine core federal portfolios—including Defence, Foreign Affairs, Finance, and Commerce. Devolved sectors such as education, health, national food security, and climate change continue to operate under federal divisions, creating an unnecessary financial burden during a period of national austerity. In response, the committee directed the Cabinet Division to cancel the creation of ministries handling Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) matters and ordered the Establishment Division to halt any further administrative appointments within devolved subjects, requesting a compliance report within 15 days. Furthermore, the panel demanded a detailed 16-year record of oil and gas revenue payments, noting that the provinces are currently being denied their legal financial shares.
