Latest news with #NFC)Award
Express Tribune
4 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
ANP sounds alarm over autonomy threat
The Awami National Party (ANP) has announced the convening of a National Jirga in Peshawar on July 26 to address the deteriorating law and order situation, rising incidents of terrorism and target killings, and the party's opposition to the proposed 26th Constitutional Amendment. Speaking at a press conference at Bacha Khan Markaz following a meeting of the party's provincial cabinet, ANP Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa President Mian Iftikhar Hussain said that elders from all walks of life, particularly those from the merged tribal districts, would be invited to the Jirga. He warned that the delay in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award, attempts to seize control of natural resources, and efforts to roll back the 18th and 25th Constitutional Amendments are all part of a larger conspiracy to undermine provincial autonomy. "This land belongs to our forefathers, and as citizens of this country, we have every right to demand control over our resourceseven if some don't like it," said Mian Iftikhar. He added that new laws aimed at controlling mineral wealth, revival of the tribal Jirga system, and attacks on the 18th Amendment are deliberate efforts to push the tribal areas back into underdevelopment. Calling for justice, he demanded the formation of a judicial commission headed by a Supreme Court judge to investigate the assassination of Maulana Khanzeb, with representation from the martyr's family in the commission. "No one has been arrested so far. If facts are withheld or manipulated, the ANP will expose the truth to the public," he warned. Mian Iftikhar said the National Jirga would formulate a strategy on how to effectively raise these issues at the national level. He stressed that ANP's struggle is not personal, but a fight for peace, ideology, and sovereignty. "We have sacrificed over 1,200 lives. Our workers were targeted, and still, we remained silent. But now, we will not stay silent anymore," he asserted. Calling for political unity, he said it is time for all parties to come togethernot for votes or power, but for the future of coming generations.
Business Recorder
11-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Population growth, climate change: Aurangzeb identifies ‘critical' existential challenges facing Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Thursday that sustainable economic growth — aimed at realising the vision of Pakistan becoming a $3 trillion economy by 2047 — would remain elusive unless the country squarely addresses two critical existential challenges: climate change and population growth. This, he stated while addressing an event organised by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to mark World Population Day. Aurangzeb also supported the call for population to be recognised as a core allocation criterion in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. He said that the existing resource-sharing formula needed to evolve to reflect new realities, especially those concerning population and climate-related pressures. Finance minister urges population as key criterion in NFC Award formula The minister agreed with the views expressed by the health and planning ministers, advocating for the inclusion of broader human development indices to guide equitable resource distribution between the federation and provinces. The finance minister underscored that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the government is pursuing a broad-based reform agenda covering key areas such as taxation, energy, state-owned enterprises, and privatisation. The minister emphasised the need to address the two existential issues of population and climate change to ensure sustainable economic growth. Talking about the 2.55 percent growth rate of population, Aurangzeb said that it has alarming implications for national development, economic planning, and social well-being. Citing the fact that 40 percent of children under five in Pakistan suffer from stunted growth, he warned that the country's future leadership is already at risk. He stressed that addressing stunting and learning poverty requires an integrated, end-to-end approach, encompassing nutrition, sanitation, clean drinking water, birth spacing, and greater awareness—all of which were discussed by scholars and experts at the event. The minister also highlighted the importance of empowering women, who constitute half the country's population, noting that inclusive workforce participation is essential for Pakistan's sustainable development. He reiterated the need to tackle learning poverty, especially among girls, and to invest meaningfully in education and skills development to enable women to contribute productively to the economy. He emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in national budgeting. Rather than compartmentalising federal and provincial finances, he proposed a unified, country-level approach to development spending. Citing this year's development budget of Rs1 trillion at the federal level and Rs4.2 trillion when including provinces, he noted that the real challenge is not the availability of funds but their optimal allocation and prioritisation. Aurangzeb also called for a reorientation of donor engagement and development financing. He remarked that while infrastructure had been the primary recipient of international funding in the past, it is now imperative to direct those resources toward human capital development, particularly in health, education, and population planning. He referenced Pakistan's 10-year Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank, noting that four out of its six pillars focus on population and climate-related issues. He informed the gathering that one-third of the total funding—amounting to nearly $20 billion over a decade, or around $600–700 million annually—will be dedicated to population-related measures. He urged that such resources must be strategically deployed, moving beyond symbolic steps like tax relief on contraceptives, and instead ensuring impactful investments across the board. The minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to prioritising long-term, sustainable solutions to Pakistan's population challenges and leveraging both domestic and international resources to build a healthier, more productive nation. He urged policymakers and development partners to go beyond traditional infrastructure investments and prioritise human capital development. 'We have built roads and power projects, but it's time to invest in people,' he said. 'This is the only way to ensure real, inclusive, and sustainable progress.' The event was attended by Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, as well as prominent religious scholars, members of civil society, and senior government officials. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Population growth, climate change: Aurangzeb identifies ‘critical' existential challenges facing country
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Muhammad Aurangzeb said on Thursday that sustainable economic growth — aimed at realising the vision of Pakistan becoming a $3 trillion economy by 2047 — would remain elusive unless the country squarely addresses two critical existential challenges: climate change and population growth. This, he stated while addressing an event organised by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination to mark World Population Day. Aurangzeb also supported the call for population to be recognised as a core allocation criterion in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. He said that the existing resource-sharing formula needed to evolve to reflect new realities, especially those concerning population and climate-related pressures. Finance minister urges population as key criterion in NFC Award formula The minister agreed with the views expressed by the health and planning ministers, advocating for the inclusion of broader human development indices to guide equitable resource distribution between the federation and provinces. The finance minister underscored that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the government is pursuing a broad-based reform agenda covering key areas such as taxation, energy, state-owned enterprises, and privatisation. The minister emphasised the need to address the two existential issues of population and climate change to ensure sustainable economic growth. Talking about the 2.55 percent growth rate of population, Aurangzeb said that it has alarming implications for national development, economic planning, and social well-being. Citing the fact that 40 percent of children under five in Pakistan suffer from stunted growth, he warned that the country's future leadership is already at risk. He stressed that addressing stunting and learning poverty requires an integrated, end-to-end approach, encompassing nutrition, sanitation, clean drinking water, birth spacing, and greater awareness—all of which were discussed by scholars and experts at the event. The minister also highlighted the importance of empowering women, who constitute half the country's population, noting that inclusive workforce participation is essential for Pakistan's sustainable development. He reiterated the need to tackle learning poverty, especially among girls, and to invest meaningfully in education and skills development to enable women to contribute productively to the economy. He emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in national budgeting. Rather than compartmentalising federal and provincial finances, he proposed a unified, country-level approach to development spending. Citing this year's development budget of Rs1 trillion at the federal level and Rs4.2 trillion when including provinces, he noted that the real challenge is not the availability of funds but their optimal allocation and prioritisation. Aurangzeb also called for a reorientation of donor engagement and development financing. He remarked that while infrastructure had been the primary recipient of international funding in the past, it is now imperative to direct those resources toward human capital development, particularly in health, education, and population planning. He referenced Pakistan's 10-year Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank, noting that four out of its six pillars focus on population and climate-related issues. He informed the gathering that one-third of the total funding—amounting to nearly $20 billion over a decade, or around $600–700 million annually—will be dedicated to population-related measures. He urged that such resources must be strategically deployed, moving beyond symbolic steps like tax relief on contraceptives, and instead ensuring impactful investments across the board. The minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to prioritising long-term, sustainable solutions to Pakistan's population challenges and leveraging both domestic and international resources to build a healthier, more productive nation. He urged policymakers and development partners to go beyond traditional infrastructure investments and prioritise human capital development. 'We have built roads and power projects, but it's time to invest in people,' he said. 'This is the only way to ensure real, inclusive, and sustainable progress.' The event was attended by Federal Minister for National Health Services Syed Mustafa Kamal, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, as well as prominent religious scholars, members of civil society, and senior government officials. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Business Recorder
10-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Finance minister urges population as key criterion in NFC Award formula
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has called for the population to be recognised as a core allocation criterion in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award. The minister made these remarks at an event organised by the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination at a local hotel in Islamabad today, in observance of World Population Day. He agreed with the views expressed by the Health and Planning Ministers, advocating for the inclusion of broader human development indices to guide equitable resource distribution between the federation and provinces. The NFC Award in Pakistan is a mechanism for distributing financial resources between the federal government and the provinces. It's established by Article 160 of the Constitution and involves a formula-based allocation of taxes and other revenues. Senator Aurangzeb also called for a reorientation of donor engagement and development financing. He remarked that while infrastructure had been the primary recipient of international funding in the past, it is now imperative to direct those resources toward human capital development, particularly in health, education, and population planning. Conflict with India won't have large fiscal impact, says Aurangzeb 'If we want to realise the dream of being a $3 trillion economy by 2047, we have to deal with two existential issues, i.e. climate change and population growth,' said Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb drew attention to Pakistan's population growth rate of 2.55% and its alarming implications for national development, economic planning, and social well-being. '40% of the children, below the age of five in Pakistan, suffer from stunted growth,' he said. Aurangzeb warned that the country's future leadership is already at risk. He stressed that addressing stunting and learning poverty requires an integrated, end-to-end approach, encompassing nutrition, sanitation, clean drinking water, birth spacing, and greater awareness—all of which were discussed by scholars and experts at the event. Similarly, a large chunk of the population, especially females, remains deprived of literacy, said Aurangzeb. 'Females account for at least 50% of the population; if they don't become a productive part of the workforce, then this country cannot move forward in a sustainable way,' he said. He emphasised the need for a paradigm shift in national budgeting. Rather than compartmentalising federal and provincial finances, he proposed a unified, country-level approach to development spending. Citing this year's development budget of Rs1 trillion at the federal level and Rs4.2 trillion when including provinces, he noted that the real challenge is not the availability of funds but their optimal allocation and prioritisation. He referenced Pakistan's 10-year Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank, noting that four out of its six pillars focus on population and climate-related issues. He informed the gathering that one-third of the total funding—amounting to nearly $20 billion over a decade, or around $600–700 million annually—will be dedicated to population-related measures. He urged that such resources must be strategically deployed, moving beyond symbolic steps like tax relief on contraceptives, and instead ensuring impactful investments across the board.
Business Recorder
24-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Towards a climate-informed NFC Award
EDITORIAL: Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal's recent announcement that the federal government is contemplating a revision to the criteria for the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award to better reflect the country's ecological and environmental realities deserves careful consideration. It signals a growing recognition of the need for climate-aware fiscal frameworks that ensure more equitable resource distribution. Terming the current population-based formula — where 82 percent weightage is given to population and the rest to factors like poverty, revenue generation and inverse population density — as 'regressive', he indicated that the government will push for including climate adaptation and other social sector indicators as key criteria when the NFC convenes for a crucial meeting in August. This marks the latest signal of the Centre's intent to reduce the dominant role population plays in shaping the inter-provincial fiscal compact. In recent months, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has also called for a 'fundamental rethink' of the population-heavy NFC formula. And given the trajectory of the economy since the 7th NFC Award came into effect in 2009, the case for revisiting the fiscal distribution framework looks increasingly compelling. By disproportionately prioritising population, the NFC formula has long overlooked structural inequities among the provinces in terms of development indicators, infrastructure and security needs. Worse still, it has created a perverse incentive for unchecked population growth, placing unsustainable pressure on economic, environmental and social resources, while also deepening the climate crisis. A runaway annual population growth rate of 2.55 percent rapidly depleting the country's already strained resources, and a worsening climate crisis battering the economy and upending millions of lives, in fact, together form the twin existential threats confronting us. Given this, it is encouraging that the government is not just reconsidering the NFC framework, it has also directed a sizeable share of the upcoming fiscal year's budget towards climate-resilient development. However, the budget document is marred by policy contradictions and a lack of clarity on how it intends to prioritise climate-related goals. A notable feature of the budget is the rollout of the IMF-backed Climate Budget Tagging tool, aimed at identifying and categorising Public Sector Development Programme expenditures according to their relevance to climate objectives. Under this framework, projects are categorised under either adaptation, mitigation, or supporting activities. To this end, the government has allocated Rs85.43 billion for adaptation — measures aimed at preparing for climate change impacts, like floods — Rs603 billion for mitigation, which focuses on reducing emissions, and Rs28.33 billion for supporting functions, including research and institutional development. While the largest share of the funding has gone to mitigation, the finance minister has repeatedly stressed that our most pressing challenge remains adaptation – an entirely valid assertion, given that this category encompasses a wide range of critical initiatives like flood protection, water resource management and climate-resilient agriculture. Yet, the funds set aside for adaptation remain disproportionately small. There seems to be little focus on developing new drought-resistant crop varieties, retrofitting aging infrastructure to protect against extreme weather, or establishing robust early warning systems. Furthermore, contradictions within the mitigation framework are also evident: a 2.5 percent carbon levy has been imposed on the fossil fuel industry, but any benefit accrued here will just be undermined by the simultaneous duties introduced on solar imports. Crucially, funding for the climate change ministry has been slashed from Rs3.5 billion to Rs2.7 billion, hindering climate research and capacity building. Given this, policymakers must recognise that a climate-informed revision of the NFC Award, while welcome, must be matched by greater coherence in the national climate agenda. The budget reflects troubling contradictions and lack of clear direction, particularly in its neglect of urgently needed adaptation efforts. Unless these gaps are addressed, any shift in fiscal thinking will struggle to deliver meaningful results. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
