PESHAWAR: Federal finance minister Ishaq Dar has said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will continue getting one percent of the federal divisible pool net proceeds as compensation for its losses in the war against terrorism until the announcement of the next National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

Addressing the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Business Excellence Award 2013-14 on Wednesday night, Dar said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would get Rs26 billion from the federal divisible pool during the current financial year like the previous one.

“We will continue giving this money to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa until the next year under a constitutional provision,” he said, adding that the amount was like general revenue for the province, so the provincial government could spend it where it liked.

The minister said the new NFC award was to be announced in April but the announcement had to be delayed due to preparations for federal budget.

Federal minister promises loans up to Rs1m for widows of terror victims

He said the federal government would offer loans up to Rs1 million of the women, who had lost husbands in terrorist attacks between 9/11 and June 30, 2015.

Dar said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KPCCI) had requested federal government to extend the facility for small traders of the province but the federal government extended it to the whole country instead.

He said the PML-N government was fulfilling most of its election promises.

“When we took over, everyone was talking about the country’s imminent default on loan repayments but we averted that though the country’s foreign exchange reserves touched the lowest of Rs8 billion in years. Now our foreign exchange reserves are all-time high,” he said.

Dar said the federal government had brought down the budget deficit to five per cent and was committed to bringing it further down to 4.3 per cent.

He said electricity shortage in the country would be overcome in the years to come and that around 18,000 megawatts projects, many in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were in the pipeline.

The minister said the federal government had allocated around Rs80 billion for the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons and was determined to repatriate them with dignity.

“We’d launched a financial austerity drive soon after coming to power. Even the prime minister has not used a single penny of his discretionary grant. The discretionary grant used in 2012-13 had totaled Rs42 billion,” he said.

Dar said five years tax holiday had been announced for all industrial units to be set up in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from July 1, 2015 to June 30, 2018, while those units had also been exempted from turnover tax for five years.

He said the federal government had allowed export of perishable items like fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meat to Afghanistan in Pakistani currency instead of dollars from July 1.

The minister said export quota of ghee and vegetable oil to Afghanistan and Central Asia had been increased to 1,000 metric tonnes per month under the Duties and Tax Remission for Export.

On the occasion, KPCCI president Fuad Ishaq appreciated the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project and said the establishment of telecommunication hubs and dry ports would create more job opportunities for the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan compared with those living in other provinces.

He appreciated the finance minister for incorporating the KPCCI suggestions in the federal budget.

The KPCCI president asked local and expatriate Pakistani investors not to heed the western media’s propaganda and invest more and more money in the country.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Sardar Mahtab Ahmad Khan and Businessman Forum president Senator Ilyas Ahmad Bilour also spoke on the occasion.

Later, Dar distributed gold medals and certificates to businessmen.

Nine businesses got gold medals for excellent performance in industrial, commercial, services and retail sectors, while export trophy, two young entrepreneur awards and a female entrepreneur award were given away to nine.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2015

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