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Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday criticised the formula of fund distribution under the National Finance Commission (NFC) award — which is based on the size of every provinces’ population — as “flawed”.
In his remarks during an address to the National Assembly, where a debate on the federal budget fiscal year 2026-27 was ongoing, Kamal noted that the NFC formula was 82 per cent population-based.
“What province will reduce its income by controlling the population?” the minister, who belongs to the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), said.
“Balochistan is the smallest province [population-wise] and gets the lowest share [in the NFC]. If it wants to get [a larger] share like Punjab, it will have to increase its population,” he pointed out, adding the distribution of funds based on population was the “biggest flaw” in the system.
