• Budget delay exposes Centre-province fiscal deadlock • NFC shares may be frozen under budget pressure • Critics say Centre ignores revenues kept outside divisible pool • Experts blame fiscal crisis on low tax collection, debt, federal spending • Raza Rabbani warns of phased rollback of 18th Amendment, NFC Award WHEN Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb rises to present his third budget, the usual questions will apply. Which sectors face fresh taxation? Will the salaried class get any relief?

KARACHI: The ruling Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Thursday gathered constitutional experts, journalists, civil and human rights activists, who agreed after discussions that any move to place Karachi under federal control, reduce provincial shares under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award or amend the 18th Constitutional Amendment would undermine the spirit of the Constitution. Speaking at a seminar organised by the party’s Sindh chapter at the Arts Council, they argued that strengthening provinces is essential for a stable federation and cautioned that any effort to roll back hard-won constitutional protections for the provinces could trigger a broader debate on subsequent constitutional amendments and the future balance of power between the Centre and the provinces. In his keynote address, PPP leader and former Senate chairman Raza Rabbani warned that the proposal to detach Karachi from Sindh or place it under federal administration would require constitutional changes which would need a two-thirds parliamentary majority.