21 January 2004	Wednesday	28 Ziqa'ad 1424

QUETTA, Jan 20: Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali has said the federal finance minister has been asked to adjust and accommodate the standpoint and demands of the provinces when deciding about the new NFC award.

Talking to reporters at airport on arrival from Islamabad on a two-day visit to the provincial capital on Tuesday, he said the majority opinion is given weight but efforts were on to finalize the award with consensus.

The prime minister was asked about the smaller provinces' proposals presented at the NFC meeting to determine the award, he said Shaukat Aziz, the finance minister, had been asked to look into them, and efforts were under way to make the whole process successful.

When told that the Balochistan government was faced with financial hardship, Mr Jamali said the whole country was confronted with the same problem, adding that "we are making concerted efforts to prepare the NFC award to overcome these woes."

Mr Jamali did not agree with Balochistan opposition parties' claim that the province's constitutional quota in the federal services was not being implemented, saying all posts for Balochistan were properly advertised, and candidates appeared regularly in tests to qualify them.

Regarding normalization of relations between Pakistan and India in the light of the recently held Saarc moot, he said he had repeatedly stated that these relations would improve step-by-step.