The PPP’s Historic NFC Award
Photo: The Nation
The city of Lahore lived up to its big-event billing when the four provinces and the centre agreed upon the seventh edition of the National Finance Commission award here on Friday. The post-agreement press conference, which brought together the four happy-looking chief ministers and a seemingly proud federal minister in a sign that Pakistan’s democracy had come of age, was a rare occurrence in itself.
The above paragraph from Dawn sums up this celebratory post. The photo preceding it shows a portrait of the Quaid almost presiding over the NFC meeting that produced a historic accord that strengthens Pakistan’s provinces and federation.
I will be unapolegetic in this post and write with much happiness in saying that the NFC 7th Award announced yesterday is a historic achievement of the much maligned PPP government and the politicians of Pakistan more widely. History will record that this NFC 7th Award has been agreed at a time of national strife and that the politicians have demonstrated a maturity that many thought was beyond them.
The 7th NFC award is historic for two reasons, firstly in that it was agreed under new multiple indicators with considerable weight given to poverty and inverse population density which has helped the smaller provinces especially my beloved Balochistan province. Secondly the NFC Award is historic in giving Balochistan and NWFP our two most affected and most neglected provinces their due rights.
The PPP government should be proud of its efforts in ensuring a consensus and historic NFC Award and words of praise are due to the provinces especially Punjab for demonstrating in words and deeds that it is the elder brother and that it will not just help the other provinces even at its own cost. The winner in this is Pakistan and her people and the lesson for us all is that our politicians and our democracy can deliver