NFC appointment.

IT was obvious to everyone that the presidential order appointing the prime minister's adviser on finance as a member of the 10th National Finance Commission and authorising him to preside over the deliberations of the NFC in the absence of the premier, who also holds the finance portfolio, wouldn't withstand judicial scrutiny. The adviser's appointment as a stand-in for the federal minister for finance and the illegal TORs seeking to slash provincial shares from federal tax resources anticipated political opposition and legal challenges. Therefore, the Balochistan High Court decision last week invalidating Hafeez Sheikh's appointment for being unconstitutional wasn't a surprise. Nor did the ruling against the agenda other than determination of the formulae for vertical and horizontal division of tax resources between the centre and provinces, set in the notification that constituted the new commission, shock anyone. The 'President of Pakistan and NFC are bound to fully implement the Constitution ... Hence, the federal and provincial governments should utilise joint efforts in order to strengthen the federation rather than racing for a major share of NFC,' the court ruled.

The PTI government has seldom tried to conceal its dislike of devolution of administrative powers to the provinces under the 18th Amendment or their...