History of the politics of agitation and protest indicate that political agitation has always been converted from any point to the issue of provincial autonomy in Pakistan. The case of Pakistan Tehrik-E-Insaf (PTI), on alleged rigging after the general elections of 2013 also suggests that the protest after general elections 2018 would at last be transformed from rigging to demanding the redressal of provincial grievances over devolution of power under 18th amendment. Since, provincial governments including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) had continuously been registering grievances about the transfer of liabilities without transferring corresponding assets and resources to provinces. In current scenario under the slogan of 'New-Pakistan' the registering of complaints by political leadership against federation though the card of provincial autonomy would have more and prolonged potential and attraction for the general public rather than merely protest on rigging. Therefore, the biggest challenge for the government in new Pakistan would be addressing the provincial issues. Because sooner or later the protest led by opposition political parties over rigging in 2018 elections would be transformed within one year into the protest for provincial issues. In the backdrop, this study highlights the challenges for newly established government of PTI in-terms of center-province relations over provincial autonomy. Further, conventional approach of federalism (extreme centralized federalism) still prevails in Pakistan which ultimately poses impediments to center-provinces virtuous working relations. That’s why it would be significant to investigate that on what issues working relation between federal and provincial governments may potentially be deteriorate. Political and economic measures have also been suggested in this study for PTI government to address the regional grievances and disparity in New-Pakistan.

This paper critically examines the 18th constitutional amendment of Pakistan, which is a revolutionary legal change and helped to see a huge adjustment of a federal form of government to provincial autonomy. The 18th Amendment provided for the abolition of the Concurrent Legislative List, the devolution of significant ministries, and reinforcement of intergovernmental institutions like the Council of Common Interests and the National Finance Commission. Although the amendment revitalized the federal spirit of the 1973 Constitution and gave the provinces the strength in legislative and fiscal areas, its early practice revealed the shortcomings in institutions and capacities. The paper concludes that sustainable federalism in Pakistan entails an enhanced level of intergovernmental coordination, institutional changes, and political commitment to handle the asymmetries between provinces.