January 09, 2007	Tuesday	Zilhaj 18, 1427

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PESHAWAR, Jan 8: The NWFP government will file a petition in the Supreme Court against the federal government and the Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) on Tuesday for ‘not honouring the arbitration tribunal’s award of net hydroelectric power profit’.

Lawyer Abdul Hafeez Pirzada, who had presented the province’s case in the arbitration tribunal, would file the petition, NWFP Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Malak Zafar Azam told Dawn.

The minister said the federal government had been made a party in the petition because of its failure to implement the award as its guarantor.

The Supreme Court could settle a dispute between the two governments under Article 184 (1) of the 1973 Constitution, he said.

The provincial government had also called a meeting of all the elected representatives of the NWFP, including the district and tehsil nazims, MPAs and MNAs, at the Frontier House in Islamabad “to demonstrate anger and protest against the federal government,” the minister said.

The arbitration tribunal had declared an amount of Rs110.1 billion to be paid to the NWFP government on account of arrears for 14 years since 1991-92 in five yearly instalments, besides uncapping the province’s share from the annual Rs6 billion.

The first instalment of Rs22 billion was due to be paid within three months and the period will expire on Tuesday.

Wapda has filed a case in an Islamabad civil court for determining the legal standing of the award.