HARIPUR: Former provincial minister Qazi Mohammad Asad Khan on Wednesday warned the centre against reducing the share of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the National Finance Commission Award saying such a move will be resisted by all political parties.

He was issued the warning during a visit to the Haripur Press Club, where he congratulated the newly-elected cabinet of the Haripur Union of Journalists.

Accompanied by senior leader of the Tehreek Sooba Hazara Abdul Saboor Qureshi and Pakistan Peoples Party leader Qazi Amir Latif, the former minister said KP was strapped for cash, so the government was already walking a tightrope to manage its financial affairs.

He said it was the spirit of the 18th Constitutional Amendment to ensure the maximum financial autonomy to the provinces by minimising their dependence on the centre for funds.

Such move will be resisted by all parties, says ex-minister

Mr Qazi said ignoring their constitutional obligations, the successive federal governments delayed payment of net hydel profit to the KP government as well as the provision of due funds from the divisible pool in the last few years causing serious financial problems for it and increasing its debts to Rs454.35 billion.

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“Our province is struggling to pay its current and former employees, so any cuts in its NFC Award share will be disastrous,” he said.

He said the centre had to clear the province’s Rs190 billion dues, including Rs61 billion net hydel profit.

“Not only parties from across the political divide but the people, too, will resist any reduction in our province’s due share in the NFC Award,” he said.

The former minister complained about the “unchecked growth of irresponsible citizen journalism.”

He said people continued to rely on the information disseminated by credible journalists despite fake news spread by social media.

Mr Qazi said as a minister, he initiated several development projects for Haripur’s journalists, including media colony and press club expansion and would do more for them after “winning” the Feb 2024 elections.

Senior leader of the Tehreek Sooba Hazara Abdul Saboor Qureshi praised Haripur’s media persons for doing “pro-people and issue-oriented journalism” and said he hoped that practice would continue.

He said social media had posed an existential challenge to the mainstream media but capacity building and “compatibility with the emerging technology could help journalists develop resilience” against the anticipated joblessness.

Mr Qureshi lamented the non-implementation of the wage board awards at district level.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2023