Balochistan wins other provinces' support: NFC issue
By Our Staff Reporter
QUETTA, Feb 13: The Balochistan government has succeeded in its efforts to develop a consensus among all the four provinces on the formula it had presented for distribution of resources in the next National Finance Commission award.
The Sindh and NWFP governments have formally informed the Balochistan government of their support to its suggestions for distribution of funds in the next NFC award, sources told Dawn here on Friday.
They said NWFP's Local Bodies Minister Sardar Mohammad Idress indicated the support of his province during a meeting with Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Mir Mohammad Yousuf in Sibi on Friday.
Jam Yousuf also had a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Ali Mohammad Mahar during his stay in Karachi few days back where both the leaders discussed the formula and agreed to support each other's point of view in the next NFC meeting.
The sources said the Sindh chief minister agreed with the stance adopted by the Balochistan government regarding the NFC award and assured Jam Yousuf of his complete support in this regard.
About Punjab government's point of view, the sources claimed that it too had expressed its support to the Balochistan government stand that factors other than population should also be taken into account while distributing funds among provinces. However, Jam Yousuf will soon visit Lahore to hold further discussions on the issue with Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi.
The sources said the finance ministry had also declared Balochistan's distribution formula applicable. Senior finance managers of the federal government have indicated that many clauses of this formula would be included in the final formula for distribution of resources.
The Balochistan government has suggested that factors other than population should also be considered before finalizing the next NFC award. The province also suggested that funds should be distributed on the basis of area, requirement and backwardness. Distribution of funds on the basis of population alone would be a great injustice with less-populated provinces, specially Balochistan.
