ISLAMABAD
\nThe 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting in Islamabad concluded on Thursday with a decision to form six to seven working groups to advance discussions on fiscal matters.
\nThe maiden NFC meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, was attended by the chief ministers of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who participated in their capacity as provincial finance ministers, while Punjab and Balochistan were represented by their respective finance ministers.
\nAdviser to KP CM on Finance, Muzzammil Aslam, also joined the meeting alongside the CM Afridi. Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Rashid Langrial was also in attendance, along with private members from all four provinces.
\nSources said that the next sitting of the NFC is expected to take place on January 8 or 15. The sources said that working groups will examine key financial issues, including a dedicated group for the former FATA region, which will look into how the merged districts can be fully integrated into the federal fiscal framework.
\nAfter the meeting, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah briefly spoke to the media and said: \u201cIt has been decided that groups will be formed which will take financial matters ahead.\u201d Speaking to the media, Muzzammil Aslam termed the meeting as constructive. \u201cThe proposal is to form separate groups that will settle different matters,\u201d he said, adding that six to seven groups will be formed, and above them, there will be an umbrella group.
\nHe confirmed that one of the groups would specifically address the fiscal incorporation of the former FATA districts. \u201cThere is a working group on [ex] FATA to decide how it should be included in the financial structure,\u201d he said.
\nHe went on to say that the meeting took place in a positive environment. No one was pressured [during the meeting] and everyone\u2019s views were heard.\u201d
\nMuzzammil also clarified that no proposal was discussed regarding a reduction in the provinces\u2019 share under the NFC Award.
\nMeanwhile, speaking during the 11th NFC session, FinMin Aurangzed described the inaugural meeting as an important moment of constitutional responsibility and mutual cooperation, adding that the NFC forum was established under Article 150 of the Constitution. He noted that the 10th NFC Award ended on 21 July 2025.
\nAurangzeb emphasised that the federal government was committed to convening the 11th NFC\u2019s opening session without delay. \u201cThe prime minister personally took a deep interest in ensuring this meeting was held as early as possible,\u201d he said.
\nHe explained that the session had previously been postponed due to the devastating floods in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh. Addressing speculation surrounding the NFC, he said: \u201cThe solution to concerns and ambiguities lies in sincere and transparent dialogue.\u201d
\nAurangzeb further said: \u201cWe are here with open minds and without bias. Our first priority is to listen to one another. The federal government is here to hear the provinces\u2019 position.\u201d
\nHe expressed hope that the provinces would move forward with a spirit of constructive cooperation, praising them for signing the National Fiscal Pact, which he described as evidence of our shared commitment and ability to work together in the national interest.
\nAurangzeb acknowledged provincial cooperation in achieving mandatory surpluses and implementing the IMF programme. Recalling national challenges, he said: \u201cThis year the country faced extraordinary threats from India and severe floods, yet we stood united as a strong federation.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is the spirit we wish to preserve throughout the process of the 11th NFC Award,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD The 11th National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting in Islamabad concluded on Thursday with a decision to form six to seven working groups to advance discussions on fiscal matters. The maiden NFC meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, was attended by the chief ministers of Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who participated in their capacity …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":90613,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90604"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":90616,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90604\/revisions\/90616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90613"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}