This Council which is responsible to the Federal Parliament is to formulate and regulate policies in relation to the matters of Part II of the Federal Legislative List. The Fourth Schedule also contains a Concurrent Legislative List in which 47 fields are enumerated. In the event of conflict between Federal law and Provincial law, the former will prevail. All residual powers fall to the Provinces, although the Central Parliament has exclusive power to legislative in these matters for those areas in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan which are not included in any Province. In particular, responsibility for education, labour, health, industry, social welfare, agriculture, and roads is largely entrusted to the Provinces, even if the formulation of general principles in some of these matters is expressed in the Concurrent Legislative List.
Specific provisions exist for Kashmir to which both India and Pakistan lay claim.
By the cease-fire agreement of 1949 the area was divided into sectors administered by India and Pakistan separately. The Provinces and Azad Kashmir have all elected unicameral Assemblies, varying from 43 to 248 members.