LAHORE: PML-N President and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday urged his younger brother, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, to allocate funds for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in line with the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

The remarks come ahead of elections, which are due to be held in both territories early next year.

The elder Sharif’s call for including AJK and GB in the NFC formula is significant, as smaller provinces have previously opposed similar proposals from the Centre. The idea was formally raised when NFC talks began under then prime minister Imran Khan, while current Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has also supported the proposal in the past to ease the federal government’s fiscal burden.

“Funds should be given to Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan under the NFC award. My message should be conveyed to the prime minister, and I will also speak to Shehbaz Sharif in this regard,” Mr Sharif said while meeting party leaders to discuss preparations for the polls.

Says both regions must have the capacity to utilise funds

“A certain amount must be given every year to both Azad Kashmir and GB. This is very important,” he said, adding that the two regions must have the capacity to utilise the funds.

He recalled that AJK and GB had not been able to fully utilise federal funding in the past. “They need to know how to spend that money. The way I wanted such funds utilised did not happen,” he said. Mr Sharif also asked party members to submit applications for election tickets in AJK and GB by Dec 31.

“We will decide who will be awarded the tickets on merit in AJK and GB, as we do in other provinces,” he said. “We will not tolerate infighting over tickets. Anyone involved will be excluded from the process.”

He said that after applications were received, he would visit the two regions and meet candidates before finalising nominations.

Mr Sharif also praised his daughter, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, for launching initiatives aimed at public welfare. He cited projects such as cancer hospitals, model villages and the metro bus system.

During the NFC meeting last week, the federal government proposed mobilising additional consolidated revenues amounting to more than five per cent of GDP over the next three years (about Rs6.5 trillion a year at the current exchange rate).

The proposal was floated during the much-delayed inaugural meeting, which also sought legal opinion on whether federal expenditure priorities could bind the provinces.

Participants told journalists outside the Ministry of Finance that there was no demand to reduce the provincial share in the divisible pool from the existing 57.5 per cent, as had been speculated, and that there was no discussion on altering responsibilities, as these subjects fall under the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the National Economic Council (NEC).

They said the fiscal requirements of AJK and GB would also be deliberated at the working-group level.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2025