18th Amendment Research Articles

Forensic psychiatric service provision in Pakistan and its challenges.

In the Islamic Republic of Pakistan the law relating to people who are mentally ill, until 2001, was set out by the Lunacy Act of 1912, which was inherited from the British colonial occupiers. In 2001 the Mental Health Ordinance 2001 took its place but only for this federal law to be superseded in April 2010 with the 18th constitutional amendment. As part of that amendment, provinces have become responsible for (psychiatric) healthcare, including mental health legislation. Forensic psychiatry is practised in Pakistan but is very much in its infancy; it needs to develop and learn from more experienced countries in Europe and North America. Cultural factors and misconceptions arising from religion can at times contribute to, or create, barriers to the implementation of forensic psychiatric services in Pakistan. This paper reviews the current state of forensic psychiatric services in Pakistan and is intended to open the debate on the challenges ahead.

Spotlight on Sindh Health Sector Budget

The 18th Constitutional Amendment was passed in April 2010 by ruling party of that time Pakistan people’s party in support of the opposition party with the aim of providing more autonomy to the provincial governments. Abolishing 17 ministries at federal level and transferring the responsibilities to provinces. It has provided new prospect to provincial governments to review and revise administrative, personnel, management and financial resources to narrow down the wide existing gaps and plan for additional responsibilities. This analysis was entirely based on secondary data. Secondary data were selected randomly without using any specific search strategy, however the focused was post devolution trend analysis of health sector budget allocation. Several government documents/reports were a part of this analysis. Nominal values were used in all these analyses using descriptive approach for analysing the trend. The review article emphasized more on Sindh province. It is evident from the statistics that there has been no change in health indicators over the year’s despite of 5-6 fold increase in budget allocation to health sector. Provincial government need to prioritize budget allocation within sector from non-developmental to developmental, also a shift from curative to preventive programs. In addition, government need to provide some sort of financial cushions like insurance, health vouchers to reduce the out of pocket expenditure.

Story of Federalism in Pakistan

This paper discusses at length the story of Federalism in Pakistan. It focuses on how it evolved during the colonial era with special references to the colonial legislations. Then making of federal-political thought in the body politic of Pakistan has been discussed. The paper extensively examines the 1956 and 1962 constitutions and scheme of federalism under them. Much emphasis has been laid on the 1973 constitution and formula of federalism under it. Furthermore, the 18th amendment has been completely dissected and how it enriched the idea of participatory federalism has been examined. Lastly, the idea of federalism as a way forward and how it can avoid the East Pakistan tragedy in future has been discussed.

Comparative Analysis of National and International Approaches and Acuities of Child Labour Within UK, USA, India and Pakistan

The work was an attempt to comparatively analyzed a national and international approaches and acuities of child labour within UK, USA, India and Pakistan because legislative authority or legislation helps to a significant range and fundamental raison prevent is convicted for the child labour problem. It was a qualitative study and through thematic analysis and purposive sampling technique, child labour was elaborated in this study. It was found in this study that the member states of the International Labour Organization signed International Child Labour Treaty on 16th June 1999 in Geneva and the United States Senate also ratified Child Labour Treaty and it came into force on 19th November 2000. In India, The New Deal programs focus on regulation that consists of child labour standards, maximum working hours, fair wages, etc. And in United Kingdom for the protection of children, ensuring them the basic rights in large number of laws and in dangerous labour prohibits the use and exploitation of children, while in Pakistan, after the 18th Amendment it has become the responsibility of Provincial Government that is empowered to make the legislation and executive jurisdiction over the matter of labour.

Mental health law in Pakistan.

Continued efforts to produce appropriate mental health legislation in Pakistan led to the Mental Health Ordinance of 2001. However, with the 18th amendment to the constitution and devolution of health responsibilities to the provincial governments, it became the task of the provinces to pass appropriate mental health legislation through their respective assemblies. Currently the mental health legislative picture is fragmented and unsatisfactory. Only the provinces of Sindh and Punjab have a mental health act in place and there is an urgent need for similar legislative frameworks in other provinces to protect the rights of those with mental illness.

Federalism in Pakistan: Of Promises and Perils

Abstract This paper presents the case of Pakistan, which is also broadly illustrative of the issues concerning federalism and subnational empowerment in developing countries characterized by unconsolidated political systems and enhanced constitutionalism. In the course of the analysis, this paper examines the dynamics and determinants of federalist/subnational politics in Pakistan, the formal constitutional and ordinance frameworks stipulated in support of federalism and subnational governance. The analysis shall be focused on the Local Governments Ordinance of 2001 and the 18th Constitutional Amendment, as these have been the most substantive attempts at subnational constitutionalism that were instituted under opposing political systems, and the extent to which they have enabled greater prospects for a stable federation while also examining the challenges that the radical departure under the 18th Constitutional Amendment put forth.

Forensic psychiatry in Pakistan

This article reviews existing forensic psychiatric services in Pakistan highlighting the role played by the judicial and the medical fraternity in managing the legal and forensic issues of the population of patients with mental illnesses. Until 2001, all legal and forensic issues were dealt with the mental health legislation of 1912, the Lunacy Act of 1912. This was inherited from the British rulers in the Sub-Continent at the time. The Mental Health Ordinance of 2001 could not sustain following the 18th constitutional amendment in 2010, whereby psychiatric healthcare was devolved to the provinces from the previous federal authority. The article also highlights the difficulties and the barriers in implementation of the forensic psychiatric services in Pakistan at various levels within the healthcare system. This article also delves into the current framework of training in forensic psychiatry for postgraduates as well as the assessments and management schedules for the mentally ill offenders at tertiary care institutions in Pakistan.

Conflict Sensitive Education Sector Planning for Social Cohesion and Resilience in Pakistan

Education is a top priority for the government of Pakistan. Every 5–16 year-old child's right to education is now a constitutional obligation under Article 25-A of the 18th Constitutional Amendment...

Blood safety system reforms in Pakistan.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world with a population of 180 million1. Literacy rate is 49.5% and the population growth rate is 2.03%. Urdu is the national language but English is also widely spoken and understood. Islamabad is the federal capital and the total country area is 796,095 km2. The health care system in Pakistan faces numerous challenges and operates through a three-tier delivery structure and a variety of public health interventions. The role of private sector is growing and according to an estimate its share has reached 75%2. The overall health regulatory framework is weak and inadequate3. The total expenditure on health is 2.5 % of the GDP4. Following the implementation of the 18th amendment of the constitution in June 2011, all the functions related to health were devolved to the provincial/state health departments5. The public health system is deficient in terms of human and physical infrastructure to match the needs of the growing population and the challenges faced by natural and man-made disasters including terrorism occurring with increasing frequency in the recent past.

Political determinants of Health: Lessons for Pakistan.

There is much concern about the capacity of the health system of Pakistan to meet its goals and obligations. Historically, the political thrust has been absent from the health policy formulation and this is reflected in the low and stagnant public allocations to health. Successive political leaderships have averred from considering healthcare is a common good rather than a market commodity and health has not been recognized as a constitutional right. Over 120 of world’s nation states have accepted health as a constitutional right but the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan does not mandate health or education as a fundamental right and the recently adopted 18th constitutional amendment missed the opportunity to extend access to primary health care as an obligation of the State. It is argued in this communication that missing from the calculations of policy formulation and agenda setting is the political benefits of providing health and other social services to underserved populations. Across the developing world, many examples are presented of governments undertaking progressive health reforms that bring services where none existed and subsequently reaping electoral benefit. The political determinant of healthcare will be realized when the political leaders of poorly performing countries can be convinced that embracing distributive policies and successfully bringing healthcare to the poor can be major factors in their re-elections.

Progress of constitutional change and irrigation management transfer in Pakistan: insights from a net-map exercise

Two current processes of institutional reform – irrigation management transfer (IMT) and the 18th Amendment to Pakistan’s Constitution – are expected to significantly impact agriculture and irrigation in Pakistan. Results are analyzed from a net-map exercise conducted with water-sector experts at the federal and provincial (Punjab) scales. The data suggest the potential for successful shifts of decision making under the 18th Amendment. However, weaker perceptions of the role of IMT in water governance were found than would be expected given its long history. This is further evidence that something new is necessary to help shift towards the decentralized IMT model.

Challenges to Promotion of the Fundamental Right to Education in Pakistan

Government of Pakistan believes that education has great impact of overall output of the society. After passing 18th amendment, education has become a fundamental right of every child. Article 37 (b) of Pakistan’s constitution states that the state shall endeavor to remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period. To ensure this basic right, government of Pakistan took each and every possible step, joined international voices working for fundamental right to education, and within the country, blend the face and pace of the public and private sectors to work for the promotion of fundamental right to education. In spite of all these efforts, a large number of children who should be in schools are out of school and those who are attending the schools are lacking the quality education. There are a lot of problems with schooling from school end to government level. Shortage of quality teachers, lack of basic facilities, lack of innovative spectrum in education system are some of the problems lie on government end and old fashion teaching styles, believes about modern education, lack of commitment are some of the challenges from school end. The objectives of this paper are to carved out the challenges to the fundamental right of education and suggest some possible ways to overcome these challenges. The sample for the study was education officer and educational managers. A semi structured interview was used for knowing their opinion about the challenges to fundamental right to education. It is found that poverty; lack of basic facilities and lack of knowledge about the importance of basic education are the some major challenges to basic education. DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2013.v2n2p327

Pakistan: health is an opportunity to be seized

Pakistan: health is an opportunity to be seized

Rational Irrationality and the Political Process of Repeal: The Women's Organization for National Prohibition Reform and the 21st Amendment

SummaryThe theory of rational irrationality suggests that voters are biased and do not face sufficient incentives to choose rationally; instead they vote for various private reasons. As a result, socially and economically destructive policies can receive widespread public support. Furthermore, because there is no private benefit of learning from experience, such policies can persist over time. We argue here that despite this otherwise dismal outlook on public policy, the theory of rational irrationality leaves two avenues for economically sensible reform: First, when the ex post costs of irrationality are higher than expected, rationally irrational voters will reduce their consumption of irrationality and demand more rational policies. Second, rationally irrational voters can be convinced to rationally update their policy preferences through the use of appealing rhetoric and persuasion by experts. We discuss these two avenues for reform using the example of the repeal of the 18th amendment, which, as we will show, relied on both updating as well as persuasive campaigning.

Changing Dynamic of Electoral Trends in British India: A Case Study of Elections (1946) and Referendum (1947) in NWFP

61 Journal of South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Vol. XXXVI, No.3, Spring 2013 Changing Dynamic of Electoral Trends in British India: A Case Study of Elections (1946) and Referendum (1947) in NWFP *Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad *Fazal Rabbi Theoretical Frame Work Electoral politics is the vital part of political participation in affairs of any state elections operates and how people behave. This study investigated citizens’ interaction with each other. Electoral politics in NWFP1 during the 1946 elections and referendum in 1947 had different dimensions of a sociopolitical nature, tenants-landlords relations, and parties’ electoral play. During 1946 elections, All India National Congress with the help of Khudai Khidmatgars2 used influential people in the Frontier society to win elections. These influential people used Congress to obtain larger benefits in their constituencies from district administration to serve their own interests. During the elections, socio-economic status, religion, family influence, and the state of the national, local and provincial affairs affected political *Muhammad Shakeel Ahmad is an Assistant Professor, Department of Humanities, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad. He did his PhD (Electoral Politics in NWFP: 1988-1999) from the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University. He also worked in the department of Pakistan Studies, Allam Iqbal Open University, Islamabad 2007-2011. *Fazal Rabbi is a PhD scholar in the National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad. His dissertation dealt with “Pakistan United States Relations in the Post-Cold war”. He worked with the Department of Political Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 1 NWFP (North West Frontier Province) of Pakistan is now renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the 18th constitutional amendment. 2 Khudai Khidmatgars means the Servants of God, was a nonviolent civil disobedience movement against British Rule. The movement was started by Pashtuns under the leadership of Bacha Khan (Abdul Gaffar Khan), in 1930. 62 attitudes, however people’s conscious feelings about parties, issues and candidates determine of voting behavior.3 Throughout one’s life a variety of influences determine political outlook. It was assumed that parents transmitted their partisanship to their children through the process of political socialization.4 In the NWFP paternal political influence on electoral politics is deeply rooted in Pakhto (Pakhtuns codes of life).5 This paternal influence shows itself in the younger generations in Pakhtun society6 . Rapidly changed voting behavior during 1946 elections and referendum in 1947 were analyzed on the basis of four models. The Sociological model, known as School of Columbia7 , is focused on the influences of social factors. During the 1946 elections in NWFP it seemed that voters would vote for a candidate that looked like them and shared ethnicity, religion and social-economic status. The psychosocial model also identified as School of Michigan,8 and assumed that party identification is the main factor behind voting behaviour. The Michigan Model is a party identification model. People vote because they belong to a certain party. The Rational choice9 theory, or model also referred to as a model of economic voting, or even as the School of Rochester, whose landmark work is the work of Anthony Downs (1957) stressed variables such as rationality, choice, uncertainty and information. The major problem with this model is the amount of information needed for it to work. The Retrospective Model10 , has voters vote on past and present aspects of the incumbent government. The popularity of the current government is apparently important. 3 Robert S. Erikson, Norman R. Luttbeg and Kent L. Tedin, American Public Opinion: Its origins , content and impact (Toronto: John Wiley and Sons, 1980), 301. 4 Ibid, 51. 5 Pakhto is the code of life of Pakhtun society in which honour, dignity, spirituality, nationalism are the main pillars. 6 Ajmal Khattak, Interview by author, Nowshera, March 23, 2005. 7 Columbia School Model is based on Paul Felix Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, Hazel Gaudet, The People’s Choice; How the Voter makes up his mind in a Presidential Campaign, New York: Columbia University Press, 1968. 8 Michigan Model is based on the study of Angus Campbell, Philip E Converse, Warren E Miller, Donald E Stokes, The American Voter, New York: Wiley & Sons, 1960. 9 Rational choice theory is based on Anthony Downs...

Review of Input and Output Policies for Cereals Production in Pakistan

The marketing of farm inputs and outputs has become a major problem for farmers in Pakistan. Farm input supplies are irregular, characterized by shortages and high prices at critical times. This report reviews the input and output policies for cereals implemented in Pakistan during the period 1996–2010. Pakistan has a long and varied history of intervening in farm input and output markets, going back decades before the period under review. Most significantly, in the wake of economic reforms launched during the 1980s, it has withdrawn from most of the commodity markets except wheat. In other commodity markets, intervention is by and large notional and without much practical involvement. The rolling back of the public sector from markets has certainly saved public funds, but the savings have come at a cost. Some of the cost, in terms of higher prices and variability stemming from the uncertain economic environment and supply, is borne by consumers, and some, in terms of lower producer prices at harvest, is borne by farmers, especially small and medium farmers, whose farms account for more than 50 percent of the area under cereals. The devolution of decision making in agriculture, food, livestock, and related subsectors to the provinces under the 18th constitutional amendment (and subsequent establishment of the federal-level Ministry of Food Security and Research with its National Food Security and Research Division) have reduced clarity in terms of the public sector’s role and responsibilities in relation to agriculture. While the many challenges facing the agriculture sector continue, the ability to address these with concerted science-based interventions seems less clear at this moment. To transform these challenges into opportunities and address the emerging issues, it is imperative to develop and strengthen institutional capacity for policymaking based on coordinated and concerted technical and economic analyses at the federal and provincial levels. To meet the technological challenges facing agriculture, the research system needs major restructuring and overhauling, administrative decentralization, financial support, autonomy, and accountability. Simply pumping in more resources, without deciding on the strategic priorities and making the system accountable, will not serve a useful purpose. The entire research-based policymaking and implementation system needs direction and coordination.

The 18th Constitutional Amendment: Glue or Solvent for Nation Building and Citizenship in Pakistan?

The almost unanimous passage of a landmark consensus constitutional amendment—the 18th Constitutional Amendment—restored Pakistan’s constitution to its original intent of a decentralized federation of provinces as envisaged in the 1956 (two provinces) and 1973 (four provinces) constitutions. This article takes a closer look at the provisions of this amendment and highlights both the potentials and pitfalls of the new constitutional order for good governance in Pakistan. It argues that the amendment represents a step forward but encompasses several missteps in creating a harmonious political and economic union. The 18th Amendment has reinforced an outmoded “pot-belly” model (federalism of provinces) whereas an “hourglass” (federalism of local governments) model is more suited to Pakistan‘s circumstances. Major fundamental reforms are needed that right-size the federal and provincial governments, strengthen local governance, enforce fiscal discipline and citizen-based accountability for service delivery performance on all orders of government, dismantle provincial barriers to factor mobility and internal trade, and restrain beggar-thy-neighbor policies and unaccountable governance by “empowered provinces” to mitigate the unintended adverse consequences of the 18th amendment for nation building and citizenship in Pakistan.

Making Devolution Work in Pakistan

This article discusses how the 7th National Finance Commission award and the 18th Amendment to the Constitution have strengthened the autonomy of the federating units in Pakistan. The former has empowered the provinces by increasing their access to financial resources, but there is the danger that it may increase the consolidated fiscal deficit unless both the federal and provincial governments increase their fiscal efforts and rationalize their expenditures. The 18th Amendment has the potential to change the structure of governance, but has been implemented in such a way that effective decentralization has been at least partially rolled back. For devolution to work in Pakistan, financing and the delivery of devolved services will have to be more effectively organized and managed.

Rational Irrationality and the Micro Foundations of Reform

Bryan Caplan’s book The Myth of the Rational Voter (2007) supports the idea that voters indulge in holding irrational beliefs about economic policy because the cost of doing so to the individual is negligible. As a consequences, socially and economically destructive policies receive widespread public support. Furthermore, because there is no private benefit of learning from experience, such policies can persist over time. Voters are biased and do not face sufficient incentives to choose rationally, instead they vote for various private reasons, which Caplan labels biases. We argue here that despite this otherwise dismal outlook on public policy, Caplan's theory leaves two avenues for economically sensible reform: First, when the ex post costs of irrationality are higher than expected, rationally irrational voters will reduce their consumption of irrationality and demand more rational policies. Second, rationally irrational voters can be convinced to rationally update their policy preferences through the use of appealing rhetoric and persuasion by experts (Caplan 2010). We discuss these two avenues for reform using the example of the repeal of the 18th amendment, which as we will show relied on both updating as well as persuasive campaigning.

18th Amendment and its Impacts on Pakistan’s Politics

This study discusses the potential impacts of 18 th amendment created in Pakistan’s law on political and social conditions of Pakistan. With the help of previous researches author proves that 18 th amendment enhances the role of Parliament and it acts as a hurdle for dictatorship.