Federation — a borrowing machine?

PAKISTAN is a federation – not a loose confederation. Pakistan is a federation – not four fiscal islands connected by one federal treasury. History tells us that a federation survives on four balances. First: rights and responsibilities. Second: revenue and expenditure. Third: autonomy and accountability. Fourth: provincial empowerment and national solvency. Red alert: Pakistan has disturbed not just one, but all four balances. Result: Islamabad borrows. Provinces spend. Citizens pay. The federation weakens. 2010: After several in-camera sessions, the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan was passed by the National Assembly. More than one-third of the Constitution was amended. Pakistan’s public debt then stood at Rs8.2 trillion. 2026: Islamabad has been borrowing for 16 years. Provinces have been spending for 16 years. Pakistan’s public debt now stands at Rs95 trillion — a net accumulation of roughly Rs87 trillion over those 16 years. Cold truth: Since 2010, Pakistan has added more debt than discipline. The post-2010 annual deficit average is 50 percent larger than the pre-2010 average. Debt has grown. Discipline has not. The federation has weakened. A dangerous imbalance has emerged: the federation has become a borrowing machine. And the federation has weakened. Consider this: After Rs8 trillion in NFC transfers and Rs8 trillion in debt servicing, federal fiscal space is almost gone. Yet the federation is still expected to defend the country at Rs2.5 trillion, pay pensions of Rs1 trillion, provide grants of Rs1.9 trillion, fund subsidies of Rs1.2 trillion, run the federal government at Rs1 trillion, finance development of Rs1.3 trillion, and maintain an emergency provision of Rs389 billion — with nothing left in the kitty. Cold truth: Islamabad is not governing from revenue. Islamabad is governing from borrowing. A federation is not a cash-transfer machine–nowhere in the world. A federation is a responsibility-sharing arrangement. Provinces cannot be spend