PESHAWAR: Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao on Sunday asked the federal government to give Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the merged districts, its due share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
In a statement, he said the federal government had agreed in principle to give ex-Fata its due share in resources at the time of the merger of the ex-tribal areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “The federal government must honour its pledges and give funds to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the merged districts,” he said.
It may be recalled that the KP government walked out of the NFC subgroup meeting recently, declaring that it would not become part to an ‘unconstitutional formula’ detrimental to the interests of the province particularly the merged districts.
Supporting the stance of the KP government on this particular issue, the QWP leader also urged the federal authorities to give due share to the province in financial resources as the delay amounted to violation of constitutional principles and federalism.
Sikandar Sherpao asked the Centre to revise the NFC resource distribution formula keeping in view the increase in population and other geographical realities. “The current NFC excludes merged districts from equitable distribution, which is sheer injustice,” he opined.
He said it was the responsibility of federal government to address the concerns of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and fulfill its constitutional obligations. He said that ex-Fata was now part of KP, therefore, the province should be provided the financial resources to enable it to cater to the needs of the tribal districts. He said the Centre must honour the pledges made at the time of the KP-Fata merger. The QWP leader said that the share of KP should also be increased under the new NFC award. He maintained that his party fully supported the stance of the provincial government on this particular issue. “We must rise above political differences to safeguard the interests of our province,” he added.
Sikandar Sherpao said that his party had always raised its voice at all relevant forums for the increased share of the province in the NFC and would do so in future as well. He recalled that the ex-Fata was absorbed into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the 25th Constitutional Amendment in 2018, adding that the arrears should be paid to the province.
Commenting on the role of the KP government, he said that instead of indulging in non-issues, the rulers should pay heed to the resolution of real issues like securing the arrears of net hydel profit from the centre and safeguarding other provincial rights.
