PESHAWAR, March 10: NWFP Senior Minister Sirajul Haq has urged the federal government to resolve the net hydel profit (arrears) issue first, otherwise he will not sign the 6th National Finance Commission award, which is due on March 31.

Winding up debate on the NFC and the proposed arbitration on the net hydel profit in the NWFP Assembly on Wednesday, he said he had made it clear to federal Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz that the NWFP would like to see its arrears cleared first.

The NWFP was the poorest amongst the four federating units and it needed the payment of the NHP arrears and an increase in the net profit after every 10 years as suggested by AGN Kazi in his formula, he added.

There was a difference of opinion, he said, on the determination of the profit. "The centre wants to determine it on the generation of electricity, but we want its determination on its sale.

We include all surcharges, which make up the profit, into the net hydel profit. The depreciation of rupee also makes a negative impact on the NHP", he observed. He said the unjust distribution of funds in the past had left no other option with the Bengalis, but to divide the country and carve out Bangladesh.

"Hunger leads a man towards infidelity", he quoted from the sayings of the Holy Prophet (PBUH). The successive federal governments, he said, failed to resolve the NFC issue in keeping with the smaller units' desires.

"The abject poverty in the Frontier province negates the tall claims made by the previous military and semi-democratic governments. Over 44 per cent people live below the poverty line in our province", he added.

He said they (three smaller units) had urged the government to increase the share of provinces from 37.5 per cent to 50 per cent so that the poverty alleviation programme could be executed.

The federal government had been asked to end duplicity of portfolios and transfer funds allocated for agriculture, education, health and local bodies departments to the provinces, he added.

The minister said the federal government was not ready to pay Frontier's Rs342 billion outstanding against Wapda. "The centre has been asked to pay Rs17 billion NHP to the province, but it pays us only Rs6 billion in instalments", he added.

He told the house that finance minister Shaukat Aziz had asked him (Siraj) not to indulge in fresh calculation of NHP, otherwise the NWFP would suffer. The centre had paid Rs12 billion to Sindh for meeting its line losses, but it was reluctant to pay Rs6 billion to the NWFP, he added.

Mr Haq said two days ago, he had received a faxed message from Islamabad, having nomination of arbitrators from the NWFP, Wapda and the federal government. "We will accept only three arbitrators either from Wapda or from the federal government".

Earlier, on a point of order, Riffat Akbar Swati drew the house's attention towards the induction of assistant advocate generals by the government. She said one of the law officers, who had been nominated as AAG, had been involved in a murder case, while another could not appear in the high court as he did not possess the required certificate.

She alleged that the government had inducted its inept workers from the lawyers community, who were alien to the basic spirit of law and justice. She said their induction constituted a travesty of justice.