NFC formation challenged in PHC
PHOTO: PHC
The formation of the 10th National Financial Commission for the provinces by the federation has been challenged in the high court.
The writ petition under Article 199 of the Constitution seeks annulment of the 10th National Finance Commission (NFC) and its TORs, declaring them unconstitutional and illegal.
NFC is a crucial document that decides the distribution of resources between the Centre and the federating units.
The writ petition has been filed by former Senator Afrasiab Khattak, Senator Farhatullah Babar, MNA Mohsin Dawar and former MNA Bushra Gohar through counsels Abdul Latif Afridi and Sangin Khan.
The writ petition filed in the PHC has named President Arif Alvi, federal finance secretary, federal cabinet and law division, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) finance secretary and advisor to PM Abdul Hafeez Sheikh as parties.
The petition contends that notification issued on May 12 this year by President Alvi is illegal.
The writ states that the new TORs made for the NFC are contrary to Article 160 of the Constitution, which includes the Azad Jammu and Kashmir government, Gilgit-Baltistan and the amalgamated tribal districts in the NFC award.
Similarly, security and disaster management and debt repayment have been included which is not in the NFC.
The constitutional petition states that the PM's Adviser on Finance does not have the authority to convene the NFC Awards meeting in the absence of the Federal Minister of Finance, which is an illegal and unconstitutional move.
In addition, the writ petition has requested the court to reconstitute the NFC under Article 160 of the Constitution and any further action would be unconstitutional and illegal.
The writ petition further said that the nominations and appointments made for the NFC were not consulted with the governor and thus it was unconstitutional and illegal and therefore the move should be declared null and void.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2020.