The Federal government is giving weight to principled stance of the Government of Balochistan on the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, which demands distribution of national resources keeping in view of area, backwardness and resources of a province.
Sources in the provincial government told APP on Tuesday that Chief Minister Balochistan, Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani had informed certain quarters in the federal government that keeping in view the sense of deprivation amongst the people of Balochistan and unrest situation prevailing in the province, national resources should be distributed amongst provinces under formula of area, backwardness, resources and level of development of a province.
They claimed that in the meeting of finance ministers of all four provinces presided over by Federal Finance Minister, Shaukat Tarin in Islamabad to review the new NFC award issue, although Punjab Finance Minister, Tanvir Kaira had presented his government's stand that resources should be distributed under formula of population and revenue collection. However, central leadership of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) was mulling over to show flexibility on the Punjab government's stance in order to please small provinces, which already had expressed their dissatisfaction over stance of the Punjab government on the NFC award.
Sources further said that Balochistan had also suggested that the federal government should keep 40 percent of resources, and remaining 60 percent should be distributed amongst the provinces. They maintained, the Government of Balochistan was also backing the Sindh government's demand for returning right of collection of GST on services and GST on goods back to the provinces.
Balochistan government has expressed hope that if the right of collecting GST on services and goods was handed over back to provinces, it would help in resolving woes of people of Balochistan carry out record uplift projects in the province.
As collected revenue would be utilised to The provincial government has also expressed its stance on the federal government that royalty on gas and oil should also be increased so that development works could be carried out in these areas, from where these are being gotten, sources said.