Without recognition of merged districts
Muzammil Aslam writes a letter to federal minister for finance and revenue
DLP Report
PESHAWAR: Advisor to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Finance Muzammil Aslam has expressed serious concerns over the non-cooperation and misalignment of the National Finance Commission (NFC) award regarding the newly merged districts of the province.
“The provincial government will not accept the further delay and extension of the 7th NFC award without the complete inclusion of the population and geographical data of the newly merged districts of KP, as mandated by the 25th Constitutional Amendment,” Muzammil Aslam, wrote in a letter addressed to the Muhammad Aurangzeb, federal minister for finance and revenue.
The letter highlights the government’s stance that on September 5, 2024, during a Grand Jirga chaired by KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, stakeholders unanimously demanded the immediate release of the remaining funds allocated for the merged districts.
In the letter, KP emphasizes that the NFC, a constitutional consultative body established under the 18th Amendment, has failed to implement its objectives, particularly concerning the integration of the tribal districts into the broader national framework.
Despite the merger of the tribal areas in 2018, which aimed to bring the financially weaker provinces, including KP, into the national fold, the 6.1 million people of the newly merged districts have not been properly integrated into the NFC award’s inter-provincial transfer system, leaving the region financially underserved.
The letter also addresses the ongoing financial challenges faced by KP, which is burdened with the developmental needs of the merged districts but has not received adequate federal support.
The provincial government pointed out that despite a ten-year development plan for the merged districts, there has been no significant provision of financial funds for their development, and KP itself has been deprived of its due federal payments.
The letter highlights that when the 7th NFC award was approved, the merged districts were part of the federation, yet they were not considered in the award distribution.
It also mentions that the financial allocation for the newly merged districts is significantly lower than that provided to less developed provinces like Balochistan.
The letter asserts that the extension of the 7th NFC award without recognizing the constitutional geography and population of KP is unacceptable, and the government insists on the proper inclusion of these areas in the financial distribution.
