Advisor to the KP Chief Minister on Finance Muzzammil Aslam has expressed serious concern over the federal government’s alleged unequal distribution of resources among the provinces, asking why the system is “collapsing” and whether smaller provinces are deliberately being kept behind Punjab. He said the federal government’s unbalanced decisions have created a clear disparity in the distribution of resources among the provinces.
The Finance Adviser questioned why Punjab was being given higher payments under the head of Net Hydel Profit (NHP) compared with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, despite KP having greater hydropower resources than Punjab. He said that last year, the federal government paid Rs96.8 billion to Punjab, while KP received only Rs30 billion. Thus, Punjab received Rs66.8 billion more than KP in a single year.
He said figures for the past three years also highlighted the same imbalance. During this period, Punjab received Rs106.2 billion more than Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “The question is, what kind of justice is this?” he asked.
Muzzammil Aslam said that if the federal government was continuously providing additional resources to support the Maryam Nawaz-led Punjab government, this should not be done by withholding the rights and resources of other provinces. “The rights and resources of other provinces cannot be sacrificed to keep the Punjab government on a ventilator,” he said.
He further said that while Punjab was being provided additional resources, its share in the divisible pool under the NFC also stood at 51.5 percent. Despite this, he said, the delay in payments of legitimate dues and entitlements to other provinces was inexplicable.
The Finance Adviser also questioned the distribution of federal development projects, saying that out of 786 federal development projects, only seven were included for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that after excluding funds for the merged districts from the federal development budget of around Rs1,000 billion for the current year, only Rs2.2 billion had been allocated for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, describing it as a serious injustice to the province.
Muzzammil Aslam questioned whether the Prime Minister’s association with Lahore meant that the resources of the rest of Pakistan should be used in an unbalanced manner. He said the federal government belonged to all provinces of Pakistan and that resources must be distributed according to constitutional, fair and transparent principles.
He said that instead of purchasing aircraft worth Rs11 billion from the resources of other provinces and naming certain projects after family members, the federal government should prioritize payment of the provinces’ outstanding dues and fulfillment of their constitutional rights.
The Finance Adviser also expressed concern over the silence of the ruling party and its allied representatives on the issue of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s rights. He said the people of the province expected their representatives to raise their voice for KP’s constitutional and financial rights.
Muzzammil Aslam made it clear that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would demand immediate payment of its outstanding dues in response to the federal government’s unilateral and unbalanced policies. “If the federal government has resources to pay Punjab’s dues, why is financial difficulty being cited as a justification for delaying payments to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa?” he asked.
He urged the federal government to end discrimination among the provinces and ensure fair distribution of resources, timely payment of outstanding dues and respect for constitutional rights, saying equal treatment of all provinces was essential for a strong federation.