Senate Panel Proposes Closure of 25 Federal Ministries

ISLAMABAD: A Senate Subcommittee on Devolution, chaired by PPP Senator Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro, has directed the federal government to consider shutting down 25 ministries and devolving or transferring several other institutions to the provinces and the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

The committee believes the restructuring could significantly reduce federal spending, potentially bringing annual expenditure down from around Rs19 trillion to Rs13 trillion and generating savings of up to Rs6 trillion.

According to reports, the subcommittee has given the government two weeks to initiate action, while the Cabinet Division has been instructed to provide an initial progress report within 15 days.

The 15 ministries specifically identified for closure include Health, Education, National Food Security, Water Resources, Climate Change, Housing, Special Initiatives, Culture and Heritage, Railways, Industries, Statistics, Petroleum, Inter-Provincial Coordination, Narcotics and Planning and Development.

The committee also proposed closing or devolving various institutions and departments, including the Evacuee Trust Board, Zakat and Ushr, Naya Pakistan Housing Authority, Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI), Police Service of Pakistan, Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), Korangi Fish Harbour, Press Information Department, SIDCL and Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda).

The panel noted that the federal government is projected to spend approximately Rs19 trillion during FY2026-27 against combined tax and non-tax revenues of nearly Rs20 trillion. It recommended limiting the federal structure to nine ministries falling under Part-I of the Federal Legislative List, with a proposed budget of Rs3.3 trillion, as part of an effort to bring total federal expenditure down to Rs13 trillion.

According to the committee’s assessment, implementing the 18th Amendment in full could generate annual savings ranging between Rs5 trillion and Rs6 trillion, potentially freeing these resources for transfer to the provinces.

The panel criticised the federal government for continuing to maintain ministries, organisations and institutions responsible for subjects that fall within provincial jurisdiction under the constitutional devolution framework. It argued that retaining such entities is unnecessarily increasing the financial burden on the national exchequer.

The committee said institutions and functions identified for devolution or closure should be transferred without harming employees and should follow the prescribed process established by the 18th Amendment Implementation Commission.

It further directed that matters and institutions covered by Part-II of the Federal Legislative List should be placed under the CCI instead of remaining under the authority of the federal cabinet.

The committee maintained that Article 154 assigns matters such as railways, oil and gas, petroleum, electricity, major ports, national planning and regulators including OGRA, NEPRA, IRSA, PEMRA and PTA to the CCI.

It called for the CCI to be reorganised around equal provincial representation and urged the government to immediately frame its rules under Article 154. The panel also directed that matters falling within the CCI’s jurisdiction should not be decided by the federal cabinet.

The subcommittee rejected the argument based on the 1997 Supreme Court judgment in the Gadoon Amazai case, noting that Parliament later introduced a requirement for the CCI to meet at least once every three months, or sooner when urgent circumstances arise.

Omar Rasool, Secretary of the CCI Secretariat, reportedly expressed no objection to the committee’s recommendations and agreed that federal institutions should operate within the constitutional framework.