- President supersedes earlier approval given last week.
- Zardari also signs Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill 2025 today.
- Finance minister to chair NFC; nine total members confirmed.
ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday approved a change in the constitution of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC).
A statement issued by the President Secretariat Press Wing stated: “The change became necessary after the Government of Balochistan revised its nomination, recommending Mahfooz Ali Khan as its non ex-officio member in the 11th NFC.”
“The president accorded approval to this nomination, superseding the earlier approval,” it added.
Last week, President Zardari formally constituted the 11th NFC to address critical fiscal matters between the federation and the provinces.
The commission, consisting of nine members, was announced through a notification issued by the Finance Division on Friday, which also dissolved the 10th NFC formed in July 2020.
The new terms of reference ToRs were also recommended to the president for the next NFC Award.
According to the notification, the finance minister will chair the commission, while the finance ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan will serve as ex-officio members.
Each province had also nominated one expert, raising the total number of members to nine. Punjab will be represented by Nasir Mahmood Khosa, Sindh by Dr Asad Sayeed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by Dr Musharraf Rasool Cyan, and Balochistan by Farman Ullah.
The NFC has been tasked with making recommendations to the president regarding the distribution of net proceeds of federally collected taxes among the federation and provinces, grants-in-aid to provinces, and the borrowing powers of both federal and provincial governments.
It will also deliberate on the sharing of financial responsibilities for national projects, trans-provincial initiatives, and other fiscal matters referred by the president.
