Govt ‘bleeding’ Rs5-6 trillion annually, Senate body laments

The Senate Subcommittee on Devolution denounced the federal government on Monday for "bleeding" Rs5-6 trillion annually by retaining ministries and functions that should be with provincial governments, in violation of the 18th Amendment. Convenor Senator Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro led the committee, which met at Parliament House and included Senators Poonjo Bheel, Jan Muhammad Buledi, and special invitee Senator Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto.

The committee examined the Rs19 trillion federal budget for FY2026-27 against the country's total tax and non-tax revenue of Rs20 trillion. It found that the non-implementation of the 18th Amendment had led to financial hemorrhaging, and called for the reconstitution of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) on an equal footing among provinces.

The committee listed 25 ministries and bodies, including health, education, oil and gas, railways, and others, as having been unlawfully retained by the federal government. They argued that these entities were a burden on the national exchequer and must be immediately shut down or devolved to the provinces. The committee estimated that faithful implementation of the 18th Amendment could save Rs5-6 trillion annually, which could be disbursed to the provinces.

It warned that failure to act on its recommendations would be tantamount to "subversion of the Constitution" and suggested that the federal government should limit itself to nine ministries under the Federal Legislative List Part-I with a combined budget of Rs3.3 trillion.