PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Muzafar Said on Friday said that all the provinces had agreed to attend a moot on evolving a consensus aimed at pressing the federal government to convene meetings on the ninth National Finance Commission award.

Addressing a press conference at the information department here, he said the meeting would take place in Islamabad on Sept 19 and all the provinces had agreed to attend it.

He said that the provincial finance ministers and NFC members from all the provinces would attend the moot. He said that the federal government had also been informed about the decision.

The minister said that the KP government wanted the provinces’ share of the federal divisible pool increased to 80 per cent and that of the centre decreased to 20 per cent.

He said that they would also press the centre to pay the proposed four per cent share of the federal divisible pool to Fata, AJK and GB, and set aside three per cent for National Security Fund.

He said that in the Census 2017 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa population had gone up and under the 18th Amendment several ministries had been devolved to the provinces; therefore, the provinces’ share needed to be increased in the 9th NFC award.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2017