KP CM pens letter to President for NFC meeting

PESHAWAR: Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has written a letter to President Asif Ali Zardari, asking him to convene a meeting of the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, ARY News reported.

In the letter, Ali Amin Gandapur highlighted the merger of tribal districts into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in 2018 after the 25th Amendment, which increased the province’s population by 5.7 million.

However, Gandapur noted that such a large population is not receiving its share of the NFC award, impacting the development process, peace and stability.

KP CM argued that the federal government is still receiving funds allocated for tribal areas, rather than the provincial government, which is unconstitutional and violates promises made to the tribal districts.

He urged the president to convene the 10th NFC meeting to include merged districts’ funds in the KP government’s share.

Earlier, Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan Haji Gulbar Khan on Sunday demanded that the GB region should be made part of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, ARY News reported.

Addressing a news conference here, the chief minister said that the region should be allocated share in budget under the NFC Award.

Haji Gulbar also demanded financial agreements with the region as agreed with Azad Kashmir. “Gilgit Baltistan will not be required subsidy if the region will be allocated a sizable financial share from the NFC Award,” he said.

He said that the legislation being introduced for land reforms in the Gilgit Baltistan region.