ISLAMABAD: The federal government has illegally spent over Rs5 trillion on ministries functioning squarely within provincial domains since the passage of the 18th Amendment, a Senate functional committee revealed on Tuesday, subsequently barring the release of any further funds to 17 such ministries.
During a highly charged session, the subcommittee of the Senate’s Functional Committee on Devolution issued a final deadline to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue formal orders winding up these ministries. The panel warned that failure to comply could result in a formal notice being sent directly to the PMO.
The startling financial revelations came after the office of the Auditor General submitted detailed spending reports for the 2011–26 period concerning ministries operating in devolved areas.
Rs5 Trillion Spent On ‘Unconstitutional’ Ministries
According to Senator Zamir Hussain Ghumro, chairman of the committee, more than Rs5 trillion (approximately $18 billion) has been spent on ministries established or retained in direct violation of the Constitution since the 18th Amendment.
Ghumro pointedly noted that this figure exceeds the total $15 billion borrowed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the same 16-year period. “Had the federal government followed the Constitution and not spent money in areas that are not its responsibility, the country could have avoided the IMF programmes,” he stated.
The committee’s proceedings reinforced the argument that Pakistan’s fiscal crisis is not merely a revenue problem, but a crisis of illegal and unconstitutional federal spending. The federal government, the committee argued, has been borrowing heavily to maintain spending in provincial areas for political advantage, severely exacerbating the national debt burden.
The Breakdown Of Devolved Spending (2011–2026)
The Auditor General’s report provided a staggering breakdown of funds unconstitutionally routed to ministries whose subjects had already been devolved to the provinces:
- Ministry of Education: Rs1.1 trillion
- Ministry of Water Resources: Rs935 billion
- Ministry of Railways: Rs687 billion
- Ministry of Health: Rs651 billion
- Ministry of Housing: Rs398.4 billion
- Ministry of Industries: Rs313 billion
- Ministry of National Food Security: Rs270 billion
- Ministry of Planning: Rs185 billion
- Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination: Rs51.7 billion
- Ministry of Climate Change: Rs48.8 billion
- Ministry of Narcotics: Rs35 billion
- Ministry of Petroleum: Rs32 billion
Committee Issues Stern Warnings
In response to the data, the committee issued strict instructions to the Ministry of Finance, the Auditor General, and the Accountant General to immediately halt the release of funds to these ministries.
“We are restraining ourselves by not referring the matter of allocating budget to ministries functioning in devolved areas to the National Accountability Bureau under Section 9 for misuse of authority by the Ministry of Finance,” Chairman Ghumro warned.
When pressed on the legal authority to release these funds, representatives from the finance ministry, including Noreen Bashir and Finance Joint Secretary Rashid Zubari, were unable to provide satisfactory constitutional justifications. “You will land in trouble for spending money against the country by allocating budgets to the subjects that have been devolved,” Ghumro told the finance representatives.
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The “Law Of Necessity” And International Commitments
Cabinet Division Secretary Kamran Afzal acknowledged the committee’s constitutional stance but failed to report compliance with earlier instructions to wind up the 17 ministries. He stated that while a summary had been sent to the Prime Minister’s Office, no directive had been returned.
Afzal attempted to defend the retention of the ministries by citing practical problems, international coordination requirements, and the “paternalistic role of the federal government.” He also noted that provinces are sometimes reluctant to take responsibility, pointing out that for two years, the Punjab government has refused to take ownership of Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Lahore and two health institutions in Rawalpindi.
Ghumro forcefully rejected these arguments as relying on the “law of necessity,” a concept the committee refused to entertain. He noted that under the Constitution, international coordination is strictly the mandate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while inter-provincial coordination falls under the Council of Common Interests (CCI). He further clarified that Article 173 allows provincial governments to enter into international agreements independently.
Ghumro also criticized the executive’s failure to utilize constitutional bodies, pointing out that national borrowing is the mandate of the CCI, yet the government has not convened a CCI meeting since 2025, even as the country sinks deeper into a debt trap.