President Asif Ali Zardari approved a constitutional change Saturday to the composition of the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) following a revised nomination from the Government of Balochistan. According to the President Secretariat’s Press Wing, the provincial government replaced its earlier nominee with Mahfooz Ali Khan as non ex-officio member in the NFC. “The President accorded approval to this nomination, superseding the earlier approval,” the statement said.
In a separate development, the president also signed into law the Criminal Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, recently passed by Parliament. Meanwhile, sources confirmed that the federal government is weighing major revisions to the NFC Award under pressure from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to reduce the fiscal deficit and manage mounting debt.
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Officials indicated that the IMF has urged Pakistan to reassess the existing formula, which allocates 57.5 percent of the divisible pool to provinces. If consensus cannot be reached, the government may resort to the 27th Constitutional Amendment to enforce a new framework. Proposals under consideration include reducing the population-based weightage of 82 percent and factoring in poverty levels, tax performance, and population density. Provinces may also be asked to increase their own revenue generation rather than relying heavily on federal transfers.
As part of broader fiscal restructuring, the government is reportedly considering devolving the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) to provinces and shifting responsibility for the Annual Development Plan (ADP) under their control. These measures align with IMF conditions to cut federal expenditure and create fiscal space.
