AN argument is doing the rounds that the proposed Fata reforms will die a natural death if a controversial financing plan for them continues to meet objections from the provinces. It is encouraging to note that the head of the Fata reforms committee, Sartaj Aziz, himself does not subscribe to the idea, but it is being pushed by others around him. The financing plan proposed to help pay for the reforms involves reducing the provincial share of federal transfers under the NFC award. Rolling back the NFC award in order to meet the federal government’s current commitments is not a good idea, but in this case, since the matter relates to a provincial government, and mainstreaming Fata is a shared priority for many reasons including security, perhaps some amount of burden-sharing with the provinces can be taken into consideration. The onus is on the PTI government in KP to help build consensus amongst the provinces, particularly in Sindh since opposition to the idea is strong in the province controlled by the PPP. The advance of the Fata reforms should not be held hostage to the fate of a financing plan, and the KP government must find a way to work with the federal government to get the job done since it is the primary beneficiary of the process.

What is more problematic is the inclusion in the revenue scheme of projects in regions like Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan that are not scheduled for merger with any province. Additionally, the financing burden of purely federal subjects, such as the formation of a CPEC security force, is also being pushed onto the provincial governments. Diverting resources meant for provincial governments towards other areas can be argued for if there is strong provincial interest in the outcome, such as in the Fata reforms which seek to merge federal territory with a province. But security and projects in other sub-federating units are purely federal subjects, and it is wrong to ask provinces to bear the burden of their costs. If the government wants to take the road of using NFC resources to help pay for Fata reforms, it needs to delink the issue from other similar requests, and work closely with the KP government to persuade the leadership of those provinces that are resisting the idea. The temptation to shrink the divisible pool unilaterally should be resisted.

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2017