PTI facing pressure as Punjab govt not delivering: Fawad

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry has said Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is facing pressure as the Punjab government is unable to deliver.

According to a private TV channel, Chaudhry criticised the Punjab government at PTI core committee meeting held on Thursday, complaining that districts were not getting the provincial National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.

“The federal government which is showing excellent performance is facing criticism owing to Punjab. Only Rs 77 billion has been released out of Rs 350 billion development fund in the province,” he said.

The minister also slammed Punjab authorities for not issuing provincial finance award to its districts which blocked paths to the continuation of development works. Chaudhry said the Centre was also facing severe criticism on the political front due to failures of the Punjab government, saying: “The federal government is brilliantly working under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan”.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Khan directed the Punjab government for immediate issuance of provincial Finance Commission Award, besides providing funds to the districts.

Meanwhile, Chaudhry also questioned the availability of discretionary funds to chief ministers, saying the practice was a violation of Article 140-A of the Constitution and against public interest.

The federal minister amid reports that he was critical of the Punjab government in a meeting with Prime Minister Khan explained in a tweet that the province’s problems stem from unfair allocation of development funds. “The problem is of the distribution of funds and not of Punjab government,” he said.

Chaudhry stated that the dispensation of funds at the discretion of chief ministers instead of a set formula was against Article 140-A. He called for a change in the method, saying that funds below the provincial levels should be disbursed among the districts the same way the centre does it at the national level.

“The chief ministers consider themselves kings [because of the power to dole our funds as they please],” adding: “This is against the public interest”.