LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President and former prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Friday urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to allocate funds for Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) in accordance with the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.
The statement comes ahead of elections scheduled in both regions early next year.
Mr Sharif emphasised the importance of formally including AJK and GB in the NFC distribution formula, a proposal that has previously faced resistance from smaller provinces. The issue was first raised during NFC negotiations under former prime minister Imran Khan, while Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has also backed the idea in the past as a way to ease the federal government’s fiscal burden.
“Funds should be allocated to Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan under the NFC award. This message should be conveyed to the prime minister, and I will also raise the matter directly with him,” Mr Sharif said while meeting party leaders to review election preparations.
He stressed that both regions should receive a fixed allocation annually and develop the capacity to effectively utilise the funds. Recalling past shortcomings, he noted that AJK and GB had not fully utilised federal allocations previously due to weak implementation mechanisms.
Mr Sharif also instructed party members to submit applications for election tickets in AJK and GB by December 31, reiterating that candidates would be selected on merit. He warned that any infighting over tickets would not be tolerated and could lead to exclusion from the process.
He added that he would visit both regions to meet candidates before finalising nominations.
During the meeting, Mr Sharif praised Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz for launching public welfare initiatives, including cancer hospitals, model villages and the metro bus project.
Meanwhile, at last week’s NFC meeting, the federal government proposed mobilising additional consolidated revenues exceeding five per cent of GDP over the next three years—approximately Rs6.5 trillion annually at the current exchange rate.
Officials said there was no proposal to reduce the provincial share in the divisible pool from the existing 57.5 per cent, nor was there any discussion on altering responsibilities, which fall under the jurisdiction of the Council of Common Interests (CCI) and the National Economic Council (NEC).
They added that the fiscal needs of AJK and GB would be examined at the working-group level.
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