PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur has written a letter to President Asif Zardari, requesting him to convene the National Finance Commission (NFC) meeting over the financial exclusion of merged districts.

Ali Amin Gundapur wrote in the letter that the previous tribal districts were merged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018, the integration of the districts increased the population of the province by 5.7 million people but has not yet received the NFC award for the population.

He further wrote that the former Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) share is being received by the federal government, which is unconstitutional. He said withholding the financial rights of the people of ex-FATA is an outright violation of the Constitution.

He denounced the continued extension of 7th NFC Award, which has remained unchanged since 2010, despite the region’s merger.

The CM urged the president to immediately convene the long-overdue 10th NFC meeting, stressing that an outdated award that no longer aligns with constitutional realities cannot be extended any further.