CM says key factors not factored into KP’s share of federal divisible pool, with funds instead retained by Centre
A collage showing KP CM Ali Amin Gandapur (left) and President Asif Ali Zardai. — Facebook@Ali Amin Khan Gandapur/Bilawalhouse/File
- Withholding the financial rights violation of Constitution: Gandapur.
- Chief minister denounces continuation of 7th NFC Award since 2010.
- Laments exclusion of population, poverty indicators from KP’s share.
PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has written to President Asif Ali Zardari urging him to convene the 10th National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting over the monetary exclusion of merged districts, The News suggested on Saturday.
Gandapur has highlighted that the 25th Constitutional Amendment in 2018, which merged the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) with KP, 5.7 million residents of the merged districts stay financially marginalised and deprived in their rightful percentage.
The letter from the CM comes after the KP Assembly’s January resolution calling for a brand new NFC Award wherein the federal government and provinces need to each allocate an additional three% proportion for the province’s merged districts.
The two-web page decision stated that at the time of the merger of the then tribal areas into KP, the unique commission led by way of the Sartaj Aziz (overdue) had determined that 3% share from the federal divisible pool and Rs100 billion in keeping with annum for 10 years might be allotted for the development of merged districts of the province.
It stated that in view that 2018, the federal authorities needed to pay Rs 700 billion to KP as in step with Rs one hundred billion underneath the AIP or Accelerated Implementation Plan, however the province acquired handiest Rs 132.1 billion until 2024 while the federal government and different provinces had now not given 3% percentage for merged districts in the countrywide sources.
After the merger of tribal regions into KP, the province need to have been paid Rs 360 billion until 2024.
In the interim, in his letter to the president, Gandapur emphasized that KP’s share of the federal divisible pool has now not taken into consideration the populace, geographical place, or poverty signs of the merged districts; as an alternative, price range were retained through the federal authorities.
He said, “Withholding the monetary rights of the humans of ex-FATA is an outright violation of the Constitution, regardless of the constitutional merger.” Gandapur denounced the ongoing extension of 7th NFC Award, which has remained unchanged due to the fact that 2010, regardless of the area’s merger.
He maintained that this exercise no longer simplest contradicts Article 160 of the Constitution however additionally breaches the commitments made under the 25th Constitutional Amendment. He issued a warning, “KP can’t take delivery of the unconstitutional, unfair, and anti-federal extension of an previous NFC Award that excludes its rightful proportion.” he warned.
The CM advised the president to right away convene the long-overdue 10th NFC assembly, stressing that an previous award can not be extended any further because it now not aligns with constitutional realities. It is to be noted that in a current press convention, the provincial chief government he had decided to take the case to the Supreme Court as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif turned into no longer taking note of them. However, he stated that Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Asim Munir had confident him of resolving the problem with the federal authorities via negotiations.
It appears that the chief minister has misplaced persistence and decided to put in writing a letter to the president and are looking for his prison help in resolving this longstanding issue with the federal government.
The KP government has been facing a bunch of challenges however the main issue is the deteriorating law and order hassle inside the tribal districts and adjacent regions of the province, in particular the southern belt including Bannu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Tank and Dera Ismail Khan.
The province, particularly the newly appointed provincial police leader Zulfiqar Hameed, has been complaining about the shortage of contemporary guns for the police pressure, saying the militants are better prepared than the police.
However, the bulk of militants are using automatic AK-47 attack rifles, the identical fingers utilized by the police force.
The only cutting-edge system that the militants have used in a number of the middle of the night attacks turned into the night imaginative and prescient goggles which they had obtained in Afghanistan.