ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan on Wednesday stressed the need for a Provincial Financial Award (PFA), saying that transparent and equitable distribution of revenue was essential to ensure a uniform level of development in all provinces.
Chairing a high-level meeting on the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), particularly the merged areas, and Punjab, he said equitable distribution of financial resources at district and provincial levels was one of the top priorities of the government.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Asad Umar, Fawad Chaudhry, Omar Ayub Khan, Finance Adviser Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, KP Chief Minister (CM) Mahmood Khan, Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and other senior officials. CM Buzdar, Finance Minister Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht and the chief secretary also attended the meeting through video-link.
The meeting discussed the development needs of merged areas and Punjab on the matter related to PFAs in detail.
The premier said that the federal government was committed to unhindered development and provision of all necessary financial resources for merged areas.
He regretted that the previous governments had injudiciously distributed resources on the basis of political affiliation, resulting in a sense of deprivation among the people.
He urged upon the provincial governments to pay special attention to empowering districts and local governments in terms of revenue to divert resources towards development.
The prime minister also directed the provincial governments to consider out-of-the-box solutions to increase revenue at the provincial level.
In this regard, he said, special attention should be paid to generating financial resources by utilising public property to minimise the financial impact of the coronavirus situation.
The meeting also discussed the net hydel profits payable to Punjab and KP whereas a working group was constituted to sort out the issue amicably.
