‘Reducing Sindh’s NFC share unconstitutional’

The reduction of Sindh's share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award by the federal government is unconstitutional, stated Sindh government spokesperson Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Thursday.

Under the NFC, financial resources are to be distributed to the provinces every month. Wahab pointed out that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led federal government had made claims about improvement in the economy and revenue exceeding the set target in July. "If this is true, why was Sindh's financial share reduced by Rs63 billion?" he questioned.

He stated that Sindh had received less than Rs28 billion from the Centre in July and questioned how the provincial government was to manage its expenses if its share was reduced every month. "How will the Sindh government achieve its development goals?" he asked, adding that if the Centre's claims about boosting the economy were true, the effects of this should be visible too.

Wahab asserted that the PTI government's words and actions contradicted each other, adding that it focused only on making claims and was either unwilling or unable to follow through on these.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2020.