LAHORE (Dunya News) – A high-level interactive session titled "Governance: Lekin Nizam Kiya" brought together some of Pakistan's most prominent political, judicial, administrative, legal and media personalities at The University of Lahore (UOL) today to examine the country's governance challenges and explore pathways towards a more effective administrative system.
The event culminated in the adoption of "The Lahore Declaration", a comprehensive document outlining recommendations for governance reforms, constitutional protection for local governments and greater devolution of political, administrative and fiscal authority. The dialogue also called for an inclusive national conversation involving all major political stakeholders to achieve lasting governance reforms.
The session featured Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Ahmad Khan and former Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as guest speakers. Other prominent participants included former Sindh Governors Imran Ismail and Muhammad Zubair, former federal minister Asad Umar, Senator Syed Ali Zafar, Liaquat Baloch, former Federal Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Muhammad Ali Durrani, former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri, Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif, Waseem Akhtar, Riaz Fatyana, Justice (r) Anwar-ul-Haq Pannun, Justice (r) Shahid Jameel, former Attorney General Ahmed Awais, Ch. Ahsan Bhoon, Rana Haseeb Khan (ASC), Aala Imran Sherazi (AHC), Iftikharullah Dhillon (ASC), Rohail Qazi (AHC), Dr. Sundas Ali, Paras Zubair, Brigadier (r) Farooq Hameed Khan, Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Dr. Qais, Amjad Pervez, M. Noshad, Tahir Nasrullah Warraich, Sajjad Bhutta, Saqib Akram Gondal, Dr. Beenish, Saeedur Rehman, Mubeen Qazi, Akhtar Javed, and senior journalists including Mujeeb-ur-Rehman Shami, Sohail Warraich, Hafeezullah Niazi, Salman Ghani, Ghareeda Farooqi, Sawera Shami, Salman Abid, Mazhar Abbas and Amjad Saleemi. The discussion was moderated by Ajmal Jami.
The session focused on Pakistan's governance system, the role of state institutions and future options for constitutional and administrative reforms.
National dialogue
Inaugurating the dialogue, the UOL Chairman welcomed the distinguished guests and emphasised that the gathering was a scholarly, non-political exercise aimed at identifying a governance system capable of genuinely serving Pakistan. He reviewed the country's repeated administrative experiments, including the Basic Democracies system, successive local government models and the 1973 Constitution, while highlighting Article 140-A, which mandates elected local governments.
He observed that despite constitutional provisions, local governments have remained weak because of premature dissolutions, delayed elections and the concentration of financial and administrative powers at the provincial level, resulting in inadequate delivery of basic public services.
Drawing examples from Germany, South Africa, Indonesia, Türkiye and China, he argued that successful governance models worldwide are built upon empowering institutions closest to the people.
The Chairman presented the conference's central question: whether executive authority should primarily be devolved to district governments because of their proximity to citizens or entrusted to constitutionally empowered divisional governments with stronger administrative and planning capabilities, while maintaining robust district and tehsil institutions. He stressed that the conference had not predetermined any governance model and instead sought informed debate and practical recommendations on constitutional reform, fiscal decentralisation and public administration.
He added that good governance strengthens democracy, restores public trust, promotes economic growth and protects citizens' rights before thanking participants and organisers and praying for Pakistan's peace and prosperity.
Lahore Declaration
Participants unanimously agreed that sustainable democracy, economic development, social justice and effective public service delivery require a governance system that is democratic, accountable, transparent, constitutionally protected and centred on citizens.
They reaffirmed that the Constitution of Pakistan envisages democratic governance through public participation and maintained that meaningful devolution of political, administrative and fiscal authority is essential for strengthening the Federation and improving governance standards.
The conference formally adopted "The Lahore Declaration", stating that Pakistan's future prosperity, democratic stability and national cohesion depend upon bringing decision-making closer to the people, ensuring constitutional certainty, strengthening democratic institutions and delivering quality public services.
The declaration stressed that governance reform requires restructuring the existing administrative framework to guarantee genuine public participation at the grassroots level while strengthening democratic institutions nationwide.
Ministers, political leaders back new provinces, stronger local governments at Lahore seminar
Participants also underlined that meaningful governance reforms can only succeed in an environment of political stability. They called for the earliest possible launch of an inclusive national dialogue involving all political parties, including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its founding Chairman Imran Khan, to build national consensus on the future direction of governance reforms.
The declaration further proposed restructuring the Election Commission into a fully independent constitutional authority with complete administrative autonomy and powers.
Reform agenda
The participants acknowledged that several constitutional and administrative models have been proposed to improve governance, including the creation of new provinces, constitutionally empowered local governments and stronger divisional administration. However, the conference deliberately refrained from endorsing any single model, recommending instead that every proposal be objectively assessed on its constitutional, administrative, financial and political merits.
To facilitate this process, the conference resolved that specialised thematic working groups should be established, comprising representatives from academia, political parties, parliamentarians, constitutional experts, intellectuals, students, civil society and governance practitioners. These groups would develop evidence-based recommendations for presentation before the nation.
Participants reaffirmed that governance reforms must emerge through broad national consultation, democratic consensus and constitutional procedures rather than unilateral decisions, arguing that sustainable reforms must reflect public aspirations and command widespread confidence.
The conference also resolved to continue the national dialogue through research, policy engagement and consultations with all stakeholders, with the objective of presenting comprehensive recommendations to Parliament, provincial governments, the Council of Common Interests and other relevant constitutional institutions.
Among the key recommendations was the meaningful devolution of political, administrative and fiscal powers from the federal and provincial governments.
The declaration further called for regular, timely and independent local government elections through constitutional and legal safeguards to strengthen participatory democracy and citizen representation. It proposed recognising local governments as a permanent constitutional tier of governance with security of tenure, regular elections and protection against arbitrary dissolution.
Participants also advocated an equitable fiscal framework to guarantee predictable and transparent transfers of financial resources to local governments while enabling them to generate local revenues within the limits prescribed by law.
The declaration recommended that independent accountability mechanisms, social audits, citizen feedback systems, open budgeting and public disclosure of development expenditures become integral components of local governance to enhance transparency and public trust.
The participants expressed appreciation to The University of Lahore and the Centre for Policy and Nation Building (CPNB) for providing an independent platform for constructive national dialogue. They reaffirmed their commitment to promoting constitutionalism, democratic governance, the rule of law and effective devolution of power for the benefit of the people of Pakistan. They also agreed to pursue the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals through transparent and accountable mechanisms.
The discussion concluded with remarks by UOL Chairman Awais Raoof, who expressed his ambition to continue the national debate with greater participation from Pakistan's youth in future engagements.