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PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman criticised the federal government’s handling of the National Finance Commission award, with the chief minister saying that Islamabad had treated the province ‘like a stepchild’ for eight years.
Addressing a joint press conference after a meeting, the two presented a united front over what they described as the federal government’s longstanding neglect of the province.
The JUI-F leader described the emerging engagement between the two parties as a positive beginning.
CM Afridi said the purpose of the meeting was to hold detailed discussions on the pressing issues facing the province. He argued that the current NFC distribution formula was unconstitutional, and specifically flagged the issue of the former tribal districts, which have a population of over six million people but have not received their rightful share.
