Pakistan’s dream of provincial empowerment through the 18th Amendment has turned into a nightmare for Sindh, emerging as the poster child for governance failures and oversight lapses. A fresh analysis from the ‘Household Integrated Economic Survey 2024-25’, referenced by The Express Tribune, exposes this chasm.
Forget progress—Sindh’s 14% households without toilets outstrips Balochistan’s 12%, while Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hover at 5%. In rural areas, hand pumps are still the go-to for water, a relic of underinvestment.
The education crisis is acute: a 10% literacy gap with Punjab, 40% of kids missing school, and vaccination coverage at just 66% versus Punjab’s 79%. Remarkably, this unfolds in a politically stable Sindh, ruled by one party across four elections.
True national advancement demands uniform provincial strides, the report warns. Sindh’s stagnation threatens Pakistan’s fabric.
Echoing this, The Friday Times argues for provincial fiscal independence to lighten federal burdens. Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are shortchanged on gas and hydro revenues per Article 161, despite constitutional rights. Their NFC sales tax cuts—9% and 15%—belie resource wealth.
Sindh shares the pain. Empowered to impose property, capital gains, gift, and estate taxes since the amendment, both governments shy away from hitting the powerful, dooming development efforts.