Devolution of Powers to Local Governments in Pakistan During Musharraf Regime

Abstract

During the colonial rule in India, the local government system had been run through the centralized-authoritative structure. Comparatively, after independence of Pakistan in 1947, military regimes had focused on local government system more than civilian rulers. Other than Ayub Khan’s ‘Basic Democracy’ and Zia-ul-Haq’s ‘Local Bodies system’ Pervez Musharraf had introduced ‘Devolution of Power Plan 2001’ under the concept of decentralization of powers. The structural changes had made the local governments more powerful and effective than before to address masses problems at the grassroots level. First time in the political history of Pakistan, bureaucracy was made subordinate to the elected representatives of the public at the local level. Despite encouraging public participation in the political process, the structural change in the system could not adequately function without any proper planning and implementation. Especially, the bureaucracy could not feel comfortable working in subordination of the local leadership and encouraged the non-cooperative tendencies. Resultantly, the system collapsed with the end of Musharraf era. The present study is to discuss the structural modification of the local government system in Pakistan and its functional performance during Musharraf regime from 2001 to 2008. For the purpose, the works of different authors on decentralization and devolution, in general, and on the devolution of powers to local governments and their impacts in Pakistan, in particular, have been analyzed and compared to suggest some beneficial measures for its future implication.