All 2026-27 budgets, central and provincial, have now been announced and passed, but there remains an unspoken dichotomy between the aspirations of the central government and those of the provincial ones, on what each endeavours to achieve through its capital outlays in the coming year. While the 28th Amendment stands averted for now, the fact remains that unless somewhere down the road the objectives of the centre get aligned with those of the provinces, such a tussle will get to be not only harmful for national harmony, but also for the rather fragile overall national unity.
Two Opposing Outlooks
In general, there seem to be two main opposing outlooks: the first is obvious, provinces want growth, whereas the current policies of the centre are clearly anti-growth; and the second, a bit less obvious, points to an increasing desperation to reach a developed level status by the provinces, whereupon people can tangibly identify and relate to the fruits of democracy, albeit a notion not entirely shared by the centre for now. So, the provincial game plan, in essence, is to indulge in people-centric spending, currently most apparent in Punjab, while, in contrast, the centre seems more fixated on revenue collection, even if it means running the markets dry and the proverbial killing of the hen that lays the golden eggs.
Punjab Leading the Way
From the provincial perspective, the leader of the pack is Punjab with its dynamic female leadership, a breath of fresh air, that is today signalling not just its beautifully crafted economic priorities, but also, in many ways, projecting a revised relationship with the central government that basically mirrors the message that if you will not lead the required reforms and new thinking to better lives, we will. Unperturbed by the massive debt and the sheer size of the government piled up by its apex entity, Islamabad, Punjab, in comparison, marches on with its agenda of a revolutionary foundational socio-economic inclusion that touches common lives from education to health to security and mainly to enhanced employment opportunities; in turn successfully tapping into the province’s growth potential right from the grassroots level and by involving the very people who will benefit from it.
Outperforming National Averages
The current data is glaringly clear, where the present leadership in Punjab has not only matched some previously laudable achievement parameters, but has, in fact, outperformed the top national delivery averages in education, health and administrative reforms. Now, some critics may say: look, Punjab as a province, in comparison, was always doing well in terms of economic growth, industrial output, services and welfare schemes, so why the credit now? However, the reality is that the difference one feels today is the resolve that we see from Maryam Sharif’s government, stating: Look, we, Punjab, may or may not have been performing in comparative terms, but our new thinking today is that, importantly, where instead can we actually go.
Provincial Antidote to Central Policies
The course correction comes out as even more glaring in the backdrop of a visible fixation by the centre on some pretty outdated and damaging economic decisions on the domestic front; more like the provinces providing an antidote to the very oppressive central policies and to sort of ensure that, in reality, the provinces want to opt for growth at any cost. The signal from almost all the provincial budgets is that since we are not content with the existing national rate of growth, the vision instead will now come from within the provinces by internally effecting a structural shift.
Investing Internally
And, in this very light, when studied carefully, each provincial budget is looking to invest and spend internally, meaning lending confidence to local investors and entrepreneurs. The repeatedly resounding idea being to somehow control the fallout from the damaging central government policies by creating an ecosystem to foster private sector investments. Needless to say, again, Punjab is leading the way and showing its peer provinces how and what to do: showcasing the private sector as the game changer and as the key stakeholder, and to unleash its entrepreneurial juices by providing it with the necessary tools in the shape of dynamic steps like establishing a land bank, faster single-window clearances, incentives for AI-oriented data centres, new IT parks, logistics hubs, improved airports and roads, and last but not least, a focus on the power infrastructure, amongst many others. This wager being on a new-age economy.
Call for Centre-Province Alignment
Now imagine if the centre were to also join in with the provincial efforts, then this is where the political economy of growth could get interesting. We could then perhaps witness a joint opportunity-unpacking and harmonising drive across the country, some robust administrative systems reforms across all functioning governments; streamlining a national architecture of welfare, which across the nation provides holistic support to entrepreneurship, growth, innovation, technology and business. And, most importantly, such a unison will rejuvenate the provinces back into a national fold, where they work in tandem with the centre for the development and progress of the people of Pakistan.
