QUETTA: The Balochis­tan government has decided to oppose the Centre’s decision to reduce share of all the four provinces in the next National Finance Commission (NFC) Award to be able to provide three per cent share to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

The financial managers of the Balochistan government were of the opinion that after the move to merge Fata into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa there was no justification to allocate additional 3pc share in the NFC award for Fata.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s share will be enhanced after the merger due to the increase in area and population of the province in the last census,” a senior official of the finance department told Dawn, adding that Balochistan would strongly plead its stance on the issue.

Sources said the federal government’s decision would get approval without consensus of all the provinces. “The given shares to the provinces in the 7th NFC award could not be reduced as it had constitutional cover,” they said.

In the past, none of the chief ministers and financial mangers of Balochistan compromised on the constitutional share of the province.

In the 7th NFC award the then Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani had pressed for Balochistan’s demands that had resulted in an increase in the share of the province.

Almost all political parties of the province, including Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), Awami National Party (ANP), Hazara Democratic Party (HDP), National Party, Balochistan National Party (BNP-Mengal), have strongly opposed the decision of the federal government.

They suggested that the federal government should give three per cent share to Fata from its own share if it desired to do so.

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2018