Govt weighs NFC-based financial framework for Gilgit-Baltistan
GILGIT: Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar said on Friday that consultations on the constitutional and legal status of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) were under way, while the federal government was considering an arrangement to give the region a share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.
The federal government currently provides annual financial grants to GB, while successive governments in the region have demanded a share in the NFC award.
The federal minister said broad consultations would be held on GB’s future administrative and constitutional arrangement and all relevant stakeholders would be taken on board.
According to the Ministry of Law and Justice, Senator Tarar invited GB Chief Minister Amjad Hussain Advocate and Leader of the Opposition Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman to the next meeting of the GB Issues Working Group.
GB Assembly backs AJK-style arrangement after CM gets cabinet approval
The meeting, chaired by Senator Tarar, was attended by officials from GB, the ministries of defence, foreign affairs, and Kashmir Affairs and GB, as well as the GB Council.
It discussed constitutional, legal, financial and administrative issues and reviewed previous reports, possible constitutional options and proposals for strengthening GB’s financial resources. Participants also examined practical reforms within the existing governance framework.
Senator Tarar directed the working group to formulate practical proposals and prepare an interim report, along with recommendations, for the main committee.
He said more time would be required to reach an agreed constitutional and legal solution, stressing that national consensus was essential. Protecting the rights of GB’s people and ensuring their sense of equality, he added, remained a priority.
AJK-style arrangement
Meanwhile, the GB Assembly unanimously approved a proposed financial agreement between the federal and GB governments, modelled on the financial arrangement between the federal government and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Chief Minister Amjad Hussain Advocate moved the proposal in the assembly on Friday. The GB cabinet had already approved it.
The chief minister said the GB government had sought federal assistance to address its budget deficit and that a committee constituted by the Prime Minister’s Office had subsequently examined a mechanism for providing the region a share in the NFC.
He said the federal finance division had raised an objection that GB could become a member of the NFC only after a constitutional amendment because the region was not a constitutional part of Pakistan.
As a result, he said, an NFC arrangement could not be established before such an amendment. The finance division had suggested that, until then, GB could adopt an arrangement similar to the one in place for AJK, subject to approval by the GB Assembly and adoption by the federal government.
The arrangement would remain in force until GB became a constitutional part of Pakistan and was included in the NFC, he said.
The chief minister said GB faced a financial shortfall of around Rs17 billion against its estimated requirement of Rs320bn. Under the proposed agreement, the federal government would provide Rs250bn to the region.
He expressed hope that the arrangement would help meet GB’s financial requirements, improve its overall financial position and provide greater stability.
“If both options are not adopted, instead of providing Rs45bn, you would be providing only around Rs100bn under the existing model,” he said. He said the AJK-style agreement should be conditional on the eventual amendment of the Constitution and GB’s inclusion in the NFC.
The house unanimously approved the proposal.
PM’s committee examining NFC framework
Chief Minister Amjad Hussain had met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in July after assuming office and demanded a greater financial share for GB.
An official told Dawn that the prime minister subsequently constituted a high-level committee, chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, to examine key financial, governance and development issues concerning the region.
The committee has reviewed GB’s long-term financial sustainability, hydropower development, power-sector reforms, climate resilience, digital connectivity, public service delivery and development priorities.
According to the official, a key focus is developing a transparent resource-sharing mechanism based on NFC principles to ensure fair and predictable fiscal transfers to GB. The committee is expected to propose an NFC-based financial framework.
Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2026
