ISLAMABAD: Leader of the House in the Senate, Ishaq Dar on Tuesday refuted recent reports suggesting that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) intended to amend the 18th Amendment.
Speaking in the Senate, he clarified that there was no such consideration within the party.
He emphasized that the PML-N had not instructed the manifesto committee to work on changing the 18th Amendment.
Dar pointed out that the manifesto committee, led by Senator Irfan Siddiqui and former Minister of Information Marriyum Aurangzeb, had already clarified the party’s position and rejected any such plans.
He highlighted the historical context of the Charter of Democracy, signed by the Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians (PPPP) and PML-N in 2006.
He mentioned that the charter included agreements on constitutional, judicial, and other reforms.
Dar explained that although the PPPP came into power in 2008, it was in 2010 that the 18th Amendment was approved after comprehensive work on the National Finance Commission (NFC)
award and other issues.
The amendment defined the share of provincial and federal governments and assigned various responsibilities to provinces which included human resource development in sectors health, education, skill development, water and sanitation, population welfare, among others.
The senator expressed concern about the inefficiency in developing human resources, citing examples of challenges faced by various departments.
He quoted the Caretaker Provincial Minister for Balochistan, who stated that 3, 500 schools had to be closed due to a shortage of teachers in the province.
Dar concluded by stating that there had been no directives from the PML-N leadership regarding any changes to the amendment.