RAWALPINDI: Malik Naveed Ahmed, President of Punjab Ittehad Tehrik, has urged the Government that the assets of West Pakistan should be divided on the basis of population or on the basis of revenue contributions by each Province to the West Pakistan budget, in which Punjab comprises 75 per cent.

Addressing a Press conference in a local hotel today [June 18], he said that for the distribution of assets there should be committees to supervise the details. These committees, he said, should be formed on the basis of population giving Punjab a share of 60 per cent.

He said that the Government is formulating separate budgets for each of the Provinces, which will be restored in West Pakistan. According to him the only correct method of allocating Central grants is to devise a uniform principle, either on the basis of population or on the basis of revenue contributions by each Province to the development budget. The ratio of our revenue and Central grants in all cases should be the same.

Talking about the sacrifices of the Punjab during the last ten years, he said that Punjab has suffered a loss of about Rs400 crores since One Unit was brought into force up till now, in addition to so many other sacrifices.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2020