Constitution did not allow a reduction in the share of provinces in the National Finance Commission Award: Syed Murad Ali Shah

KARACHI, March 16 (SABAH): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Saturday said the Constitution did not allow a reduction in the share of provinces in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

While talking to the media in Karachi, Syed Murad Ali Shah said the government could not reduce the allocation to the provinces in the NFC award due to IMF pressure. “It is written in the Constitution about the NFC award that the share of the provinces [in resources] cannot be reduced [but] it can be increased,” he added.

Syed Murad Ali Shah said the government must have likely intimated the IMF about this, adding that he was not even sure if the reduction was a condition in the IMF talks or not since he was not part of them.

The chief minister said provinces were given additional responsibilities after the 18th Amendment and, thus, the NFC award should be changed accordingly to reflect them instead of continuing the 7th NFC Award.

He reiterated that it was the PPP and Sindh government’s demand from the federal government to bring in a new NFC award since the old no longer applied after the 18th Amendment.