NFC Award: Rabbani says Centre wants to reduce provinces share

ISLAMABAD: Former Senate chairman Mian Raza Rabbani Friday expressed fear that Islamabad, at the behest of what he called, the centrist mindset and the International Monetary Fund, wanted to reduce share of the provinces by at least 10 percent by circumventing the Constitution.

Giving his reaction to the National Finance Commission meeting, held earlier in the day, Rabbani charged, “Islamabad at the behest of the centrist mindset and the IMF is trying to circumvent the provisions of Article 160(3A) of the Constitution, 1973. The Article provides that the share of the provinces, in each Award of National Finance Commission, shall not be less than the share given in the previous Award.”

“The IMF and the centrist mindset are unhappy with the vertical distribution of 57.5 per cent of the divisible pools to the provinces. They, in actual fact, want to reduce this amount by at least 10 per cent; therefore, are findings ways and means to circumvent Article 160(3A). The federal government is placing demands on the provinces to contribute in the development projects in former FATA, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir,” he contended.

He continued: “They are also asking for contribution from the provinces for the maintenance of the CPEC Security Force and also contributing in the overall internal security in terms of terrorism. These are methods of funding federal projects with the resources allocated to the provinces and reducing their allocation from the previous Award. And, it is being rumoured that provinces are being asked to make a contribution of federal projects such as BISP and HEC.

“Such circumvention of constitutional provisions dealing with and pertaining to provincial autonomy has been done in the past as well, their result has been disastrous as it has affected constitutional governance and created polarisation between the Federation and the provinces and the provinces themselves. The government is warned to desist from laying with the Constitution in such a manner.”