Federalism is gaining strength through CCI: PM

Islamabad : Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that the Council of Common Interests (CCI) meeting has been called on a short notice to deliberate and decide upon proposals pertaining to distribution of water resources and some non- tax revenue proposals in the Council of Common Interests before announcement of the Budget for the next financial year.In his opening remarks, the Prime Minister welcomed the Chief Ministers and Members of the Council in the CCI meeting held at Prime Minister’s Secretariat this afternoon and informed that the CCI would deliberate upon a brief but very important agenda.The Prime Minister expressed his confidence and said that by the Grace of Allah and with the help of collective wisdom of the Chief Ministers, the representatives of the Federal Government and the experts, unanimous decisions would be taken in the meeting.The Prime Minister mentioned that today’s meeting is the 6th meeting of the CCI which is a sure sign that Federalism is gaining strength through this institution being pivotal for equitable distribution of natural and financial resources. He expressed his gratitude to note the spirit of cordiality and collaboration between constituent units of the Federation, which was rare in the past. He stated that the recent session of the National Economic Council is a manifestation of this spirit where development projects of Rs 730 Billion were approved ensuring regional equity and special consideration for under developed regions of FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan and AJ&K.The Prime Minister observed that it was also a major paradigm shift to see that the Federal PSDP has been lowered to Rs 300 Billion compared to the size of Provincial PSDP. Likewise Balochistan was allocated 10% additional financial resources over and above the provincial share under the 7th NFC Award, he added. – Onlinenews