Zulfiqar Ahmad
ISLAMABAD: Former ruling families of princely states that acceded to Pakistan continue to receive Rs40.94 million a year from the public purse in maintenance allowances, according to figures presented before a Senate committee on Wednesday.
The largest annual payments go to the former ruling houses of Bahawalpur and Junagadh, which receive Rs12 million each. The former ruling families of Khairpur and Manavadar receive Rs8.4 million each.
Officials told the Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), chaired by Senator Asad Qasim, that a total of Rs40,935,600 was currently being distributed annually among former rulers, their successors and dependants.
The list of beneficiaries also includes members of the former ruling families of Dir, Makran, Kalat and Chitral, as well as the Sheikh Sahib of Mangrol.
The amounts vary considerably. While the former ruling houses of Bahawalpur and Junagadh receive Rs12 million each annually, some beneficiaries receive as little as Rs9,000, while others receive Rs75,600 a year.
The payments are split between two government institutions, with the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON disbursing Rs20.46 million and the Finance Division another Rs20.4756 million.
The payments are linked to financial and administrative arrangements made with former rulers and their families at the time of the accession of princely states to Pakistan in 1947 and in subsequent years.
Although the former rulers later lost their political authority and ceased to exercise direct control over their former states, the allowances have continued in some cases for decades.
The briefing did not indicate when the payments were due to end, whether they had recently been reviewed, or whether the government had considered revising or withdrawing them.
The committee took no decision on the continued allowances, despite the disclosure of the substantial annual payments from the public purse, with some members questioning the continuation of what they described, with irony, as a “privilege”.
–ChitralToday
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