IDEAS hosts Local Government Forum #LGF2023
The Institute of Development & Economic Alternatives (IDEAS), Dehleez and Mahbub ul Haq Research Centre at LUMS recently held a dialogue on local governments titled the Local Government Forum 2023. The Forum aimed to facilitate dialogue between members of civil society, political representatives, policy makers, academics, and the judiciary on reforms needed to strengthen the institutional design and administrative capacity of local governments, unlock their fiscal potential, and to make local governance inclusive and accountable. Strengthening local governments is not only important for the health of Pakistan’s federalism and governance, but it has become critical in light of emerging challenges associated with urbanisation, climate change and Pakistan’s economic stagnancy.
The event was held at the Lahore University of Management Sciences on 25th August 2023 and was well-attended by more than 300 participants over the course of the day. Four engaging panel sessions explored the various facets of local governance including the institutional design and structure of local governments, fiscal management and accountability, reforming civil service for effective local governance, and making local governments more inclusive. Prominent panelists included Senator Dr. Sania Nishtar from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Dr. Miftah Ismail (Former Federal Minister of Finance), Dr. Ishrat Hussain (Former Advisor to the PM on Institutional Reforms and Austerity), Mr. Fawad Hassan Fawad (Former Principal Secretary to the PM), Mr. Awais Leghari (Former Minister of Finance) and Mr. Nawazish Ali Pirzada (Pakistan People’s Party). The panelists drew from their own experiences in government and civil service in Pakistan, as well as global evidence and best practice on local governments on why effective local governance is the need of the hour in our country.

Senator Sania Nishtar spoke as part of the first panel on the structure and design of local governments: “People at the helm of affairs have to be committed to integrity. There is no dearth of money, institutions or good people in the system, however there is a small group of rent-seeking individuals holding the entire system hostage.”
Mr. Fawad Hassan Fawad said, “Both federal and provincial govts have failed to address the issues of the common man. Our own experience and global best practice tells us that local governance is the best way to empower people.”
Mary James Gill, a panelist on the session for making local governments inclusive and people-centric, was of the view that we need to deeply examine the rationale for inclusivity and representation of minorities in government, so as to go beyond tokenism and reserved seats for minoity representatives.

The closing address for the event was delivered by Honourable Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, Senior Judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in which he explained through specific examples how the judiciary has historically tried to enable the legal functionality of local governments. As an area of further research, the honorable justice highlighted parallels that can be drawn between the three-tiered legal justice system and the local government system.
The event was live streamed and recorded. The videos for each of the sessions are below:
- Session 1 – Institutional Design to Build Representative, Accountable and Responsive Local Governments to Tackle Emerging Challenges
- Session 2 – Unlocking the Economic, Fiscal, and Service Delivery Potential of Local Governments
- Session 3 – Reforming Civil Service for Effective Local Governance
- Session 4 – Making Local Governments People-Centric and Inclusive
- Closing Address by Justice Mansoor Ali Shah
News coverage recieved by the Local Government Forum 2023: