Balochistan govt expresses annoyance over financial crisis, blames Centre for situation

Quetta [Pakistan], May 19 : The Balochistan government has once again expressed annoyance over the financial crisis and blamed Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government for the same, saying that the province is yet to receive the share of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, according to Dawn.

The NFC award is meant to distribute financial resources between the federal government (vertical distribution), and the provinces (horizontal distribution).

Notably, Pakistan is a federation and has four federating units: Sindh, Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan.

According to Express Tribune, the NFC award includes the distribution of taxes collected by the federal government which form a divisible pool. This pool includes taxes on income including corporate tax, sales tax and export duties, etc.

In the past, Pakistan was a highly centralised federation, with the federal government having enormous power to levy taxes and then divide the proceeds to the provinces.

Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo decried the "negative attitude of the federal finance and planning ministries" during the cabinet meeting he presided over on Tuesday this week.

The meeting was informed that although Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had promised to donate (PKR) 10 billion for the rehabilitation of flood victims, the funds had still not been made available after 10 months to the people in the province.

The finance and planning ministries were told by the prime minister to find a solution, but nothing has been done as of yet, he said, according to Dawn.

The provincial ministers noted that Balochis were becoming angry and frustrated due to the federal government's unfavourable stance. It was determined that the provincial government will strongly oppose the matter to Islamabad.

According to Dawn, a group comprised of the parliamentary party leaders, ministers from the provinces, senators, and MNAs will soon discuss the matter with the prime minister. The delegation will be led by the chief minister.

Meanwhile, the Joint Action Committee, Balochistan University, Teachers, Officers and Employees Association in May called on the authorities to release PKR 1.11 billion by June 2023 in order to pull the University of Balochistan out of the financial crisis, Business Recorder reported.

Professor Fareed Khan Achakzai and Shah Ali Bughti, leaders of the Joint Action Committee, Balochistan University, Teachers, Officers and Employees Association raised the demands while addressing a press conference at Quetta Press Club, as per the Business Recorder report.

They said that academicians, officers and employees of the university had not received their monthly salaries for the past three months. They said that they have been on strike for the past one and a half month, calling on the authorities to get their monthly salaries released.

They, however, said that the authorities were not paying attention to their demand.

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