By Our Correspondent
LAHORE: Devolution Summit 2026, convened by the Punjab Local Government Caucus, commenced today in Islamabad, bringing together parliamentarians, federal ministers, constitutional experts, economists, and governance practitioners to deliberate on the future of devolution and multi-tier governance in Pakistan.
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The Summit opened with Mr Ahmad Iqbal Chaudhary, Convener of the Punjab Local Government Caucus, setting the stage for the proceedings. In his opening remarks, he outlined recent efforts undertaken by the Caucus to strengthen the discourse and practice of devolution in Pakistan, emphasizing the need to move beyond episodic reforms toward a durable constitutional, fiscal, and administrative framework that can sustain empowered local governance.
The first panel, “Constitutional Design of Pakistan’s Federation,” featured Mr Farhatullah Babar, Senator Faisal Sabzwari, and Dr Nafisa Shah.
The discussion focused on structural constraints within Pakistan’s federal design and the long-standing absence of a constitutionally protected sub-provincial order. Mr Farhatullah Babar stressed the importance of initiating and sustaining serious constitutional conversations on devolution, noting that such dialogue was long overdue.
Senator Faisal Sabzwari highlighted that devolution is fundamentally a service delivery issue affecting all citizens equally, cautioning against framing it as an ethnic or regional concern, which he argued obscures its national relevance.
Delivering the keynote address, Mr Azam Nazeer Tarar, Federal Minister for Law & Justice and Human Rights, expressed support for the principle of devolution while underscoring how existing power structures and incentive systems have historically discouraged genuine decentralisation.
He emphasized the need to realign institutional incentives to enable meaningful reform.
In a subsequent keynote,
Mr Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister for National Health Services, termed the absence of effective local governments a national security concern, arguing that weak local governance undermines state capacity and resilience. He urged policymakers to draw lessons from international models, including China’s local governance framework, to strengthen service delivery and administrative effectiveness.
The second panel, “Devolution & Resources,” brought together Mr Mosharaf Zaidi, Mr Ahmad Kundi, Dr Abid Suleri, Mr Ali Haider Gillani, and Mr Mohsin Leghari. The discussion examined various fiscal and institutional models that could support devolution in Pakistan. Mr Ahmad Kundi highlighted that the meaning and implications of devolution differ significantly for smaller provinces compared to Punjab, stressing the need to revisit resource distribution and fiscal arrangements through a differentiated and context-sensitive lens.
The third panel, “Reforming the Civil Service for a Three-Tier Structure,” included Dr Ishrat Hussain, Mr Babar Yaqoob Fateh, Mr Zulfiqar Ali Shah, and Mr Syed Ali Raza Shah. Panelists reflected on past civil service reform initiatives and explored why these efforts failed to achieve lasting impact. The discussion emphasized the need for a modern, three-tier administrative service aligned with contemporary governance demands, capable of supporting decentralized decision-making while maintaining institutional coherence.
Day 1 of the Devolution Summit concluded with Mr Mian Amir Mehmood, former Mayor of Lahore and Chairman of the Pakistan Broadcasters Association, who in his concluding remarks urged legislators to pursue devolution as a practical solution to Pakistan’s governance challenges. He emphasized that sustainable growth and stability are not possible without meaningful administrative reorganisation.
In his closing address, the Speaker of the Punjab Assembly, Mr Malik Ahmad Khan thanked all participants and speakers for engaging in a substantive, intellectual, and policy-oriented discussion, noting that such dialogue was urgently needed at this juncture.
The Devolution Summit 2026 will continue tomorrow with focused thematic roundtable sessions aimed at translating deliberations into concrete proposals that will inform the Islamabad Devolution Charter.
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