NFC’s 11th award session put off as provinces battle floods

ISLAMABAD: The inaugural session of the National Finance Commission (NFC) has been postponed due to the flood situation in Punjab and Sindh.

The meeting, which was scheduled for August 29, was deferred at the request of the Sindh government, sources said.

According to sources, the agenda included recommendations on the NFC Award, the formation of sub-groups, and the schedule of future sessions, while the federal and provincial governments were to brief on their financial situations.

The President had approved the notification for the 11th NFC on August 22, with the federal finance minister as chairman and the provincial finance ministers and nominated members as part of the commission. However, Sindh requested that the session be delayed due to the floods.

Last week, President Asif Ali Zardari constituted the 11th NFC under Article 160 (1) of the Constitution.

According to the notification issued by the NFC Secretariat at the Ministry of Finance, the commission comprises nine members.

Alongside the finance minister and provincial finance ministers, Punjab is represented by former bureaucrat Nasir Mahmood Khosa, Sindh by economist Dr Asad Sayeed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Dr Musharraf Rasool, and Balochistan by Farmanullah.

In June, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that a committee would be formed to review the NFC Award and a first meeting on the subject would be convened in August.

Addressing a Jirga in Peshawar, he had noted that KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur rightly pointed out that 15 years had passed since the last NFC Award was announced and that it was now due for review.