In what is fast becoming a defining constitutional standoff, Puntland has fired back with force and conviction after the Federal Government of Somalia, through its Ministry of Interior headed by Min. Hosh, accused the FM state of violating national laws by launching its own identity agency.

The ministry’s April 21st statement labeled Puntland’s newly established Puntland Identity Agency (PID) a “national violation” and claimed the move undermines Somalia’s statehood and legal order. But what might have been intended as a bold assertion of authority has instead revealed something more troubling: a federal government that seems confused, if not willfully ignorant, about the basic principles of federalism.