Defence minister voices support for creation of new provinces, says there is no harm in move and no one should fear it
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif speaking during a session at the Think Fest in Lahore on Saturday. Photo: Screengrab
LAHORE:
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif emphasised on Saturday that Pakistan’s stability lay in strong local government and no one should see it as a threat.
“When powers are not taken down to the grassroots level, it is tantamount to deceiving the people. Local government should be seen not as a threat but like a nursery. The world knows New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and this is the biggest example,” Asif said while speaking at the session Devolution for Revolution at Think Fest in Lahore.
He said politicians could only secure their authority legally and constitutionally by seeking endorsement directly from the people. “If politicians want their power to be legitimate, they must reach out to the country’s 250 million people,” he said.
The defence minister said local government posed no threat to any institution and instead ensured stability. “All institutions remain safe under a local government system. I don’t understand why my own fraternity feels insecure,” he remarked.
He recalled that all three military rulers — Ayub Khan, General Ziaul Haq and Pervez Musharraf — relied on local governments, which enabled them to sustain their rule by devolving power to the grassroots while retaining central control.
Asif identified bureaucratic influence over politicians as a major reason for political failure in the country. “First comes influence, then dependence. Once dependence sets in, politicians lose the ability to see long-term realities,” he said, adding that artificially created surroundings cloud political vision and distance leaders from ground realities.
Expressing regret, the defence minister said politicians continued to avoid empowering local institutions despite the model being easy to understand. “It pains me that even after decades in politics, we have failed to bring meaningful change,” he said, adding that many current parliamentarians were themselves products of the local government system introduced during General Zia’s era.
The minister stressed that political power could be strengthened through institution-building by granting local governments taxation authority, administrative powers including policing, and financial independence at city and tehsil levels. He said this devolution would also help ease budgetary pressures at the federal and provincial levels.
Highlighting international examples, Asif referred to a recent visit to Morocco, where he observed clean and well-managed neighbourhoods despite narrow streets in historic city centres. He said an effective local government system there had instilled a participatory sense among citizens, ensuring cleanliness, sanitation and basic services through local taxation.
“In Pakistan, only a few hundred thousand people are politically engaged out of 250 million,” he lamented. “The majority have never felt that they are part of the system or that their will and choices matter.”
Clarifying his stance, Asif said he was not criticising others but himself. “I have been in Parliament for many years, yet we have not succeeded in introducing transformative reforms,” he admitted.
He said the most urgent issue facing the country was empowering local governments, adding that the only segment feeling threatened by this shift was the civilian bureaucracy, whose authority would be transferred to elected representatives. “When powers move from deputy commissioners to local governments and mayors, real stability will begin,” he said.
Referring to history, the defence minister noted that the local government system was institutionalised by colonial rulers 150 to 200 years ago, who felt no threat in devolving authority despite their small numbers. “But today we fear diversity — different parties winning in different cities or union councils,” he said.
“It is this diversity, these differences, and this colourful political landscape from which democracy truly flourishes,” Asif concluded.
He also voiced support for the creation of new provinces in Pakistan, saying there is no harm in the move and no one should fear it.
The debate over governance issues and local governments has seen a resurgence since the Gul Plaza tragedy at a shopping mall in Karachi, which has taken 71 lives so far.
During a debate in the National Assembly this weekover the Gul Plaza incident, Asif had echoed calls for empowered local governments, saying it was “humanly impossible” to manage Karachi under the current administrative structure.
Read: Gul Plaza fire toll rises to 28 as DNA testing begins to identify victims
“I am not blaming individuals, I am blaming the system,” he said, arguing that the concentration of authority in provincial capitals had weakened governance.
He said the spirit of the 18th Amendment had yet to be realised, as power had not been meaningfully devolved to the grassroots level. True public empowerment, he said, required a strong and autonomous local government system.
“If there is no empowered local government, there will be no effective fire brigade, no timely emergency response and no accountability at the neighbourhood level,” Asif said. Calling the Gul Plaza fire a wake-up call, Asif urged parliament to reflect seriously and pursue constitutional reforms to strengthen local governments.
Earlier in the day, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar demanded that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif form a high-level judicial inquiry into the Gul Plaza tragedy, accusing the Sindh government and Karachi’s civic authorities of negligence, delays, and misleading the public.
