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NFC award

Punjab ready to offer financial relief to federal government

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Punjab ready

LAHORE: The Punjab provincial government is prepared to extend financial relief to the federal government, according to sources in the provincial assembly.

Officials said the Punjab government may provide up to 570 billion rupees in financial relief to help Islamabad reduce its fiscal deficit and meet International Monetary Fund targets.

They added that under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, Punjab is expected to receive more than 3.793 trillion rupees from the divisible pool of revenues.

Meanwhile, the provincial government has finalized the outline of its budget for the 2026–27 fiscal year, with the total volume set at 5.131 trillion rupees, sources said.

No official statement has yet been issued by the Punjab government confirming the reported financial arrangement.

On the other hand, Punjab Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said the province will not compromise on its share under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award and will strongly defend its constitutional rights if any reduction is made.

Addressing a pre-budget roundtable conference in Lahore, he said Punjab is currently running more than 100 major development programs and requires adequate financial resources to sustain them.

He warned that if Punjab’s share in the NFC award is reduced, the province would “defend its rights,” adding that Punjab cannot transfer or surrender its financial resources under any circumstances.

The finance minister said the provincial government is working on establishing a unified tax collection system under one roof to improve efficiency and revenue collection. He added that efforts are also underway to promote agriculture and industry, along with the preparation of a major industrial package expected to involve billions of rupees over the next three years.

He said the government aims to reduce taxes rather than introduce new ones.

Maryam Nawaz, he said, is overseeing governance reforms and has resumed work after health improvement.

Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman said Punjab has already presented two budgets and will now present its third budget on June 16.

Eight working groups formed ahead of 11th NFC award

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NFC award

ISLAMABAD: Eight working groups have been formed by the federal government to draft recommendations for the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, according to sources.

A working group on provincial jurisdictional expenditures has been formed, headed by the Finance Minister of Punjab. Another group on resource-sharing ratios between the federal and provincial governments will be led by the Finance Minister of Balochistan.

Additional working groups include: national debt structure and utilization, improving tax-to-GDP ratio, led by the Finance Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, direct transfer of resources to provinces, headed by the Finance Minister of Sindh, integration of former FATA and NFC shares and structure of the divisible pool, led by Finance Minister Mohammad Aurangzeb.

The first meeting on the 11th NFC award was held on December 4, during which the formation of these working groups was approved.

The second meeting is expected by mid-January, where each working group will present its recommendations within its area of focus.

These working groups aim to ensure a transparent and efficient resource distribution framework between the federation and the provinces.

NFC to hold talks on resource allocation today

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NFC

ISLAMABAD: The 11th meeting of the National Finance Commission (NFC), tasked with distributing resources between the federal government and provinces, has commenced.

The session is being chaired by Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, with the IMF also on board for discussions regarding the new NFC award.

According to sources from the Ministry of Finance, all four provincial finance ministers, technocrats, and commission members are participating. The provincial representatives include Nasser Mahmood Khosa from Punjab, Asad Saeed from Sindh, Mahfooz Khan from Balochistan, and Musharraf Rasool from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. All NFC members have been invited to the meeting, while the Federal Secretary of Finance is serving as the official expert for the commission.

The agenda includes reviewing recommendations for the new award, considering the formation of sub-groups, and setting the roadmap for future meetings. Finance Minister Aurangzeb stated, “We will approach the meeting with a ‘Pakistan First’ mindset, listen to the provinces, and present the federal financial position transparently.”

The current seventh NFC award has been in effect since July 2010. The Constitution mandates a review every five years, but the scheduled 2015 meeting did not take place until now.

A day prior, a key consultative meeting was held under the chairmanship of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Sohail Afridi, to prepare for the NFC session.

During the briefing, the CM was informed about the province’s financial and constitutional rights in NFC discussions. He emphasized that despite the administrative merger of former FATA, financial integration has not yet occurred.

Under the NFC, the merged districts are entitled to PKR 1,375 billion, which has not been provided. At the time of merger, an annual allocation of PKR 100 billion was promised, which now totals PKR 700 billion. Of this, only PKR 168 billion has been disbursed by the federal government, leaving a balance of PKR 531.9 billion.

CM Sohail Afridi stressed that withholding the merged districts’ share violates the Constitution, and the province’s financial and constitutional rights will be fully protected.