The government is considering to allow more provincial autonomy, specially financial powers to provinces as the sub-committee of the Parliamentary Committee on Balochistan meets shortly to finalise recommendations.
The sub-committee chairman and Leader of the House in the Senate Wasim Sajjad told Business Recorder on Wednesday that they were keen on early completion of the task. However, he could not anticipate how much time it would take to finalise the proposals. He said that the government has decided in principle to grant the federating units more autonomy and more importantly financial powers.
To a question, Wasim Sajjad pointed out that it was under study as to what exactly would be the impact if the Centre stopped charging general sales tax from the provinces at the local services level.
The senator explained that the National Reconstruction Bureau had been asked to furnish its proposals in consultation with the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Law and Justice.
The constitutional package, he explained would include the foregoing of certain financial powers and levying of taxes and collection in favour of the provinces. The sub-committee's input, he emphasised could be more productive if all its members actively took part in its future deliberations.
Wasim Sajjad contended that they desired the opposition should end boycott of the sub-committee so that a consensus document could be furnished and tabled in the Parliament for approval following its review by the main parliamentary committee.
He was hopeful that the combined opposition would rejoin the sub-committee so that the 'sensitive job was done with the consent of all the stakeholders. It was most likely that even if the opposition continued to stay away from its deliberations, the sub-committee would accomplish its task.
Leader of the opposition in the Senate Senator Mian Raza Rabbani during a question-answer session at a dialogue on Balochistan said that they were prepared to again be part of the committee if the military operation is halted, forces withdrawn and all the Baloch and Pushtoon political activists are freed.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi assured the National Assembly some weeks ago that before the presentation of 2006-2007 budget, the provinces would be given autonomy with the Constitution duly amended.
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