According to the United Nations Organization, Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 1976, collectively known as the International Bill of Human Rights, are focused on basic rights any human being is entitled to. Article 25 of the UDHR and Article 11 of ICESCR state that everyone has the right to a decent standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, medical care, and social services. Similarly, Article 21 of the UDHR 1948 states that everyone has the right to participate in government and to have equal access to public services. It indicates that equal access to public services and basic facilities to live a life is a basic human right, and undeniably, implementation of these articles is supposed to take place at the local levels of any country. A municipality in the neighborhood functions to provide basic facilities, like drinkable clean water, unclogged sewerage and drainage system, proper housing and waste disposal, no garbage piles, walkable communities, unpolluted and refreshing air, promoting public health, unadulterated foods and drinks, unoccupied footpaths to pedestrians, paved roads, green spaces, and covered manholes among others. Hence, it is the function of the local institutions to fulfill these basic human rights. Pakistan: A Case Study: On the global stage, Pakistan became a signatory to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in 1948 and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in 2008. Domestically, after the 18th Amendment, each province has established its own Treaty Implementation Cell and Human Rights Commission. However, as there are different spectrums of human rights, safeguarding those human rights is not a function of just one institution. Every ministry or department fulfils the criteria to contribute towards social justice, good governance, and improved quality of life. Whether it is extra-judicial killing, preventive detention, or the right to basic needs, every human right is consequential. However, fulfilling the basic human rights to decent standards of living and basic facilities is the mandate of the local government. The Constitution of Pakistan 1973 has 3 articles enshrined in it to establish local government. Article 32 states that the State shall encourage local Government institutions composed of elected representatives of the areas concerned, and in such institutions, special representation will be given to peasants, workers, and women. Article 37 (I) states Decentralise the Government administration to facilitate expeditious disposal of its business to meet the convenience and requirements of the public. Similarly, Article 140 (A) states that Each Province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative, and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments. After the 18th Amendment in 2010, provinces promulgated local government acts. Baluchistan instantly, after the 18th Amendment in 2010, promulgated the Balochistan Local Government Act 2010. In 2013, Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa enacted the Sindh Local Government Act (SLGA), Punjab Local Government Act (PLGA), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act (KPLGA), respectively. The Gilgit Baltistan Local Government Act was enacted in 2014. In each of the Acts, the functions of local government are defined for each tier of local government. Although the functions of local government are mentioned in provincial acts, the first election of Local Government took place in 2014, in Baluchistan province, after the intervention of the Supreme Court in 2013. Currently, Sindh and KP have elected local governments. Even if Local Governments have been established across the country, there are issues with financial, administrative, and political devolution to the Local level. Current Scenario: Although legislation on local government has been ensured, problems exist at the implementation level. For instance, in the Punjab, Sahiwal was elevated to the status of a division in 2008, transitioning from a municipal corporation to a metropolitan corporation. Despite this, the city still lacks a permanent dumping site for solid waste management as Dawn newspaper reports it. The city’s solid waste is dumped near the Jhal Road overhead bridge on the banks of the Lower Bari Doab Canal (LBDC). The dumping has caused public health problems for residents of these areas. Not only has the Punjab, the largest province of Baluchistan, also suffered in providing local services to the public. Currently, Baluchistan has no elected local government. Its capital, Quetta needs a decent public transport system. According to Dawn Newspaper, in October 2024, two people were killed and several policemen were injured during an operation to vacate government land. Not only encroachment, but renting out local councils’ properties at a nominal fee is also a problem, as said by Commissioner Quetta Hamza Shafqaat on his Instagram page. The shops of local councils are rented to influential people on nominal charges, which keep local government coffers empty. Additionally, the local councils in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also face problems. In the capital city of Peshawar, in January 2025, the Mayors and chairmen of the city, tehsil, village and neighborhood governments protested against the denial of funds and powers as reported by Dawn Newspaper. They demonstrated on the busy Khyber Road and GT Road for five hours. The protest organizers insisted that several protesters fainted or were injured due to tear gas shelling, while the police detained seven of them. The chaos indicates that the local government in KP faces severe financial constraints. Likewise, in the Metropolitan city of Karachi, Geo.tv has published on its website that around 19 children lost their lives in Karachi as they fell into the uncovered manhole. Moreover, people pay out of pocket and purchase water for drinking and non-drinking purposes. Roads are not constructed keeping pedestrians in mind. If anyone wants to cross the road, they have to walk a long distance to cross the bridge. This sight is not common in Islamabad, Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia, or Berlin. There, the zebra crossing and traffic control system facilitates everyone, whether a person is in a car, on the footpath, or zebra crossing. Undeniably, the people living in these cities have a higher standard of living than those living in downtown Karachi, Quetta, Peshawar, Umar Kot, Khanewal, and Sukkur. Local councils provide not only municipal services, but civil registration also takes place at local councils, ensuring that the right to identity is fulfilled. Civil registration includes birth, death, marriage, and divorce. According to Child Identity Protection, birth registration for children below five years in Pakistan stands at 42.2%, a modest increase of 15 points from 27% in 2007. The birth registration rate for children under one is even lower, i.e., just 35%. According to UNICEF, Pakistan has the highest number of unregistered children in South Asia. Undoubtedly, mostly nomadic families, refugees, and hard-to-reach families are out of this registration net. For every other civic, political, and economic right, one needs to be registered in the national database first. To increase registration, provinces with the support of the UNICEF and UNFP are trying their best to facilitate the public. However, there still needs to be work on public awareness. First, the constitution of Pakistan 1973 lacks clarity over the topic of Local government. In the 17th Amendment, Article 140A was inserted into the Constitution of Pakistan 1973. However, there is no chapter on how the political, administrative, and financial devolution will take place, what the procedure of the Provincial Finance Commission would be, how the conduct of business in local government will take place, and how the administrative relations between the provincial government and local government would be. The vagueness surrounding local councils makes local councils less autonomous politically, financially, and administratively. Without autonomy, the local issues are not addressed, and the provincial government (overly burdened) attempts to address such issues without considering the local context. Second, state institutions are working in isolation. For example, many of the Sustainable Development Goals are related to municipalities. In August 2023, the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Taskforce on Sustainable Development Goals at the National Assembly of Pakistan conducted a session on “From Global Goals to Local Impact: Empowering Local Government for SDGs Success”. However, there is no manifestation of that national-level seminar at the local level. Similarly, the provincial governments, instead of increasing the capacity of local councils, create other boards or corporations. For instance, now in Sindh, there exists the Sindh Solid Waste Management Board (SSWMB), Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB), Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA), and Sindh Master Plan Authority (SMPA). It causes overlapping of functions and deprives local councils of their basic functions, which is the essence of any local government. Hence, the elected representatives, when approached by the residents of that council to make a complaint against garbage piles or choked sewerage lines, say that they do not have the authority or means to address that problem. Third, there is corruption and a lack of accountability that have resulted in poor local governance, rendering people devoid of basic facilities. According to the Pakistan Today newspaper, in October 2023, the director of the Local Fund Audit Department in Punjab was accused of amassing a staggering Rs400 million through corruption and malpractices involving the scrutiny of funds and accounts of the local fund as well as local government departments. Moreover, in July 2023, the Anti-Corruption Establishment registered a case against eight officials of grade seven to 20 and five contractors in a mega corruption scam amounting to over Rs1 billion in the Lahore Metropolitan Corporation in setting up cattle markets. Funds in billions are misappropriated and not spent on public development programs or infrastructure improvement. It is because the audit and accountability mechanism is very poor. Fourth, there are also fiscal constraints in local government. Dawn newspaper reports that “Given the 20 percent share in ADP funds in KP, local bodies share in the financial year 2022-23 comes to Rs33 billion, Rs34 billion in 2023-24 and Rs27 billion in the current 2024-25, but the provincial government has not released a single penny out of local council cumulative share of Rs94 billion since local councils installation,” It indicates that limited funding to local government is also a factor behind poor public services. Last but not least, there is a weak attempt at viewing these municipal services from the human rights approach. Islamabad, Bahria Town Lahore, Bahria Town Karachi, and Defence Housing Societies across the country are walkable. Undeniably, only people from the elite class can afford to live in societies with all basic facilities. People from middle-income groups live in unorganised housing, where the household is constructed not according to international standards. Green space is also very limited. The worst is with the lower class. The people live in the slums or Kachi Abadis without electricity, gas, and water. Zip codes define the affordability, accessibility, availability, and acceptability of basic facilities across the country. The poor is living with bare minimum, and the rich enjoy all basic facilities as their birthright. It is because the provision of these facilities is not seen through the lens of human rights. Way Forward: If Pakistan wants to improve governance and promote human rights, parliamentarians must strive hard to add a chapter on local government in the Constitution of Pakistan. Simultaneously, complete administrative, political, and financial devolution should be ensured in all four provinces. For instance, in Sindh, the OZT share has been increased for local councils. Now, Sindh can work on administrative devolution to the local councils by giving councils more autonomy and merging boards and corporations into the councils. Additionally, municipal courts in every district should be established, which will deal with municipal cases, reducing the burden on the criminal justice system and ensuring speedy redressal of the issue. Then, the Human Rights Commission in each province may also work on viewing municipal services from a human rights lens. Lastly, media and civil society organizations must empower the local community by creating awareness, providing accurate information, and imparting training to the local community. An empowered and well-informed public will play a significant role in shaping local government in Pakistan. The writer is Assistant Director, Local Government Karachi East, Pakistan