NFC Award: Pakistan govt 'constitutes' eight key committees

In a major development, the Pakistan government has ‘constituted’ eight key committees regarding the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, ARY News reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

According to sources shared with ARY News, all four provinces of Pakistan are seeing developments in the NFC process, and the federal government has also formed several working groups to address their issues.

A working group has been formed to make recommendations on provincial jurisdiction expenditures, chaired by the Finance Minister of Punjab. Another working group, focused on the distribution ratio of resources between the federal and provincial governments, will be led by the Finance Minister of Balochistan.

Additionally, the federal government has set up a working group to analyse the structure and utilization of national debt. A separate group, chaired by the Finance Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been tasked with improving the tax-to-GDP ratio.

A working group on the direct transfer of resources to provinces will be chaired by the Finance Minister of Sindh. Moreover, a divisible pool working group has been formed under the leadership of Federal Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb, and a seventh working group has been created to address issues related to the merger of former FATA and its NFC share.

The first meeting on the 11th NFC Award was held on December 4, during which the federal and provincial governments decided on the formation of these working groups.

These groups will prepare recommendations within their respective jurisdictions.

Sources indicate that the second meeting concerning the NFC is expected by mid-January next year.