Author name: Ishfaq Khalil

nation’s democratic health is built upon a true foundation of empowered local governance. As the closest interface between the citizen and the state, local governments are essential for responsive service delivery, inclusive development, and the cultivation of a participatory democratic culture. In Pakistan, this principle is unequivocally enshrined in Article 140-A of the Constitution, which

Local Governance Profile Khyber PakhtunkhwaThis chapter analyzes the state of local governance in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), a province that presents a unique paradox. While historically at the forefront of local governance legislation, its progress has been consistently undermined by a political culture that subverts its own reforms through parallel structures and engineered instability. This analysis

Local Governance Profile – Islamabad Capital TerritoryThis chapter analyzes the unique case of local governance in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). As a federally administered territory, it possesses a unique legal status. This analysis examines the institutional conflict between the promise of devolution embodied by the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and the reality of centralized

Local Governance Profile BalochistanThis chapter examines the state of local governance in Balochistan, a province where the constitutional promise of devolution has been rendered inert through prolonged and systemic neglect. The analysis reveals an architecture of control, defined by a decade-long fiscal starvation due to a dormant Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) and an opaque development