Why Pakistan still lacks a real local government tier

PAKISTAN suffers from a shortage of government where it matters most. Power remains concentrated in Islamabad and the provincial capitals, while the institutions closest to citizens are either weak, underfunded or simply absent. Pakistan continues to rely on a colonial administrative model to solve twenty-first-century problems, while the rest of the world has moved towards empowered mayors, professional city managers and accountable local councils. Pakistan has not. A broken streetlight, overflowing sewer, unsafe road, failing school or uncollected garbage should not require intervention from a provincial minister or distant bureaucracy. These are local problems demanding local solutions. Until power reaches the communities it is meant to serve, governance will remain slow, unresponsive and disconnected from the everyday lives of citizens. The 18th Constitutional Amendment fundamentally reshaped Pakistan’s federal structure. Combined with the 7th National Finance Commission Award, provinces received greater constitutional authority and 57.5 percent of the net proceeds of the divisible tax pool. The logic was compelling. Decisions taken closer to the people would produce better governance, greater accountability and more responsive public services.

Power moved from Islamabad to the provincial capitals, but it rarely moved beyond them. Instead of empowering districts and municipalities, the provinces became smaller versions of the federal government, concentrating authority within provincial secretariats while local governments remained weak, underfunded or altogether absent. The citizen experienced little real decentralization. Authority simply changed addresses. The reasons are primarily political. Provincial governments have little incentive to create strong local governments. Ministers and Members of Provincial Assemblies derive considerable influence from development funds, postings, transfers and local administrative decisions. A genuinely empowered mayor or district council would inevitably diminish that influence. No political elite willingly surrenders power that strengthens its electoral position. As a result, local government elections are repeatedly delayed, councils are dissolved before completing their terms and even elected local bodies are denied meaningful authority over education, health, policing, sanitation, transport, water supply and urban planning. Without genuine political, administrative and financial autonomy, local government remains more symbolic than substantive.

Article 140A requires provinces to establish elected local governments with political, administrative and financial authority. Yet successive provincial governments have largely ignored this constitutional mandate, perpetuating delayed elections, weak local institutions and centralized governance. Critics argue that local governments lack the capacity to govern effectively. Many councils undoubtedly need better-trained staff, stronger financial systems and improved planning. But capacity cannot be built by withholding responsibility. Institutions develop by exercising authority, learning from experience and being held accountable. Pakistan’s provinces themselves acquired administrative capacity only after assuming constitutional responsibility.

The world’s most successful democracies understand this. In the United States, elected mayors oversee key municipal services, including policing, sanitation, local roads, transport and emergency response. In Germany, municipalities enjoy constitutional protection and substantial financial autonomy. Across Scandinavia, local governments manage education, healthcare, elderly care and infrastructure with considerable independence. Despite their differences, these countries share one principle. The government closest to the people is responsible for the services people rely on every day. Pakistan, however, continues to govern neighbourhoods from provincial capitals located hundreds of kilometres away. No official sitting in a provincial capital, however competent, can fully understand the daily priorities of every union council, town, village or neighbourhood.

The consequences are visible across Pakistan. Urban planning is fragmented, encroachments multiply, waste collection is inconsistent, water supply systems fail, local roads deteriorate, schools and primary healthcare facilities struggle and parks fall into neglect. Citizens are forced to navigate multiple offices because responsibility is dispersed while authority remains centralized. Pakistan does not lack policies, legislation or reform plans. It lacks the institutional capacity to implement them. Bureaucracies operate in silos, coordination is weak and accountability is blurred across multiple layers of government.

The problem is compounded by the way development is financed. Much of Pakistan’s annual development spending is channelled through federal and provincial projects shaped by political priorities rather than local needs. Legislators should legislate, not build roads or distribute development schemes. Their responsibility is lawmaking and oversight, not municipal administration. Local infrastructure and public services should be planned and delivered by elected local governments through transparent, formula-based transfers. A capable state is measured not by the number of ministries it creates but by how effectively it delivers services. That is only possible when authority, responsibility and accountability rest with the institutions closest to the people.

Each tier of government should perform the functions it is best equipped to handle. The federation should focus on national security, foreign affairs, macroeconomic management, energy policy and inter-provincial coordination. Provinces should legislate, regulate, set standards and strengthen institutions. Local governments should deliver the services that shape citizens’ daily lives. Pakistan’s governance debate often revolves around personalities, political parties and constitutional amendments, but the real question is far simpler. Who should fix the broken road, provide clean drinking water, maintain schools and parks, collect waste and keep neighbourhoods functional? The answer cannot always be Islamabad or the provincial capitals. It lies where the people live. Until Pakistan trusts its citizens with genuine local self-government, it will continue to centralize authority while decentralizing blame. Strong local governments are not merely another tier of administration. They are the missing foundation of a capable state. Without them, Pakistan will continue to centralize power while decentralizing failure.