LAHORE, Dec 7: Viewing the reported urgency shown by the federal government in resolving the inter-provincial issues, the Punjab government promised on Friday to finalise its comment on a proposed related bill in a week.

The promise was reportedly made by Caretaker Chief Minister Justice Ejaz Nisar (retired) with Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Dr Muhammad Amjad who called on him here in his secretariat.

Official sources said an inter-provincial coordination meeting could be held in Islamabad in the next 15 days wherein the proposed Inter-Provincial Autonomy Bill would be finalised after incorporating the amendments and proposals of all stakeholders.

They hinted at the possibility of the introduction of the law through a presidential ordinance. If this was not done, the federal government would keep the proposed bill ready for the next National Assembly for adoption, they said.

The sources indicated that the federal government had sent the proposed law to all provincial governments for comment and asked them to immediately send their opinion on it.

The issues addressed in the bill were sensitive as they were related to the distribution of national financial resources and water among the provinces, they said.

Also, a handout issued by the provincial government said that the chief minister told the minister that better relations between the provinces were of utmost importance for strengthening the federation, and mutual exchange of delegations could go a long way in promoting harmony among them.

The federal minister said his ministry had started consultation with the provincial governments to promote inter-provincial coordination. An inter-provincial coordination conference will soon be held in Islamabad.

He said a policy had been adopted to benefit from experiences of different provinces in education, health and communications.