Pakistan's federalism, parliamentary democracy eroding, says senator as Imran's woes mount

Pakistan Senator Mian Riza Rabbani on Wednesday said that federalism and parliamentary democracy are gradually eroding in the country, noting that the meetings of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) are not convened regularly, despite it being the lynchpin of the federal system, The Dawn reported. The Senator was speaking at a national conference on 'Making Pakistani federalism work; lessons from the government's Covid-19 response' that was organised by Democracy Reporting International (DRI).

He acknowledged that efforts are being made to replace the current federal parliamentary democratic system with a "quasi-presidential system." He stressed that there was a dire need to strengthen the existing federal coordination mechanism under the CCI, instead of forming a new extra-constitutional forum as the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), which will only lead to the piling of matters in the system.

SC slams Pakistan government over the delay in CCI meet

This development comes a day after a Supreme Court bench slammed the Imran Khan government for delaying the CCI meetings. Judge Qazi Faez Isa had observed that "Are good deeds being kept a secret?" as he added that the Pakistan government lacks understanding of the need to conduct the CCI, as the meet was a basic requirement to run the country. 
"Either the government is incapable of running the country or it is unable to make decisions," the SC told the Pakistan government.

Now, Senator Rabbani has observed that the CCI meetings weren't being convened regularly despite it being the linchpin of the federal system, adding that all matters in the Federal Legislative LIst Part-II are being decided by the Cabinet, which is in violation of the Constitution, ANI quoted The Dawan as reporting.

Meanwhile, referring to the power supply to Balochistan, Senator Dr. Jehanzeb Jamaldini said that while a damaged gas pipeline that supplies gas outside of Balochistan is fixed within hours, why is the electricity line in Quetta lying damaged and isn't repaired for weeks, he asked. DRI orgainsed this meet in collaboration with the Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) of the Britain government. The conference was attended by legal and government experts from the federal capital and provinces alongside lawmakers of Pakistan.