Pakistan Rejects IMF’s Call to Revisit NFC Award

According to sources, the Pakistan government has declined the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) request to revisit the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

The IMF, during the second review talks under the $3 billion loan program, urged Islamabad to reconsider the NFC Award with the provinces, citing a shortage of federal funds.

Government sources stated that no recommendation against the constitution regarding the NFC Award will be approved. The share of provinces under the NFC Award will not be reduced, although the federation and its units can collaborate on the matter.

Furthermore, sources indicated that the federation will explore alternative methods to increase its income.

Article 160 of the Constitution empowers the president to approve the distribution of revenues between the federation and the provinces through an NFC Award order.

While the 2010 NFC award was initially agreed upon for five years, there has been no consensus to revisit it since then.

The IMF delegation is presently in Pakistan for the second review under the SBA loan program, with approval from the IMF potentially unlocking a $1.1 billion loan tranche for Pakistan.

Zubair Yaqoob

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