Gohar clarifies KP budget move is constitutional duty, not federal request

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan said on Friday that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget was being moved forward as a constitutional and legal responsibility of the province, not at the request of the federal government.

Speaking to Geo News, Gohar said the passage of the budget was a provincial matter and was unrelated to the Centre. He said the budget for fiscal year 2026-27 would be approved and added that all members of the assembly, including Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, would attend the sitting. The provincial government is scheduled to present the budget at 2pm on Friday.

Party leaders outline decision

Senior PTI leader Shaukat Yousafzai said Chief Minister Sohail Afridi had initially wanted to defer the budget until a meeting with the PTI founder could take place. He said one option under discussion was a three-month budget if legal complications made delay impossible, but legal experts advised against that course, saying it would stop development work in the province and would be limited to expenses such as salaries and pensions.

Yousafzai said the party eventually decided to table a full budget to prevent harm to the province and to keep development activity going. He said the step was taken in the wider public interest and confirmed that the budget would be presented on Friday. Addressing reports of differences within PTI, he said members who had reservations were not in rebellion and remained within the party fold. According to him, all lawmakers would attend the assembly session, voice their concerns during speeches and then support the party line in the vote.

He also rejected reports of back-channel contacts and said people in the province had a right to expect consultation with their leader. Yousafzai further said there was no legal bar on meetings with the PTI founder and alleged that such meetings were being blocked for political reasons.

Budget estimates and allocations

According to provincial government sources, the proposed budget exceeds Rs2.170 trillion. The development programme is estimated at more than Rs519 billion, including Rs150 billion from international donor agencies for development schemes. The budget also proposes Rs55 billion for local governments, a 7% rise in salaries and pensions for government employees, and the merger of the 2022 and 2025 ad hoc relief allowances.

The same sources said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expects Rs1.443 trillion from the federal government and around Rs105 billion in net hydel profit, while receipts from provincial resources are projected at Rs180 billion. More than 900 new development schemes have also been proposed.

Yousafzai, however, gave somewhat different figures, saying the total budget was likely to be around Rs2.2 trillion, with Rs235 billion set aside for development spending. He said the provincial cabinet was working on salary increases with the aim of ensuring minimum pay could cover basic needs, particularly in a period of high inflation and what he described as limited relief from the federal government.

He said the budget would not impose new taxes and that some existing taxes were instead being reduced to lessen pressure on the public, describing it as tax-free. He added that the provincial government was excluding grant-in-aid payments from the budget as a protest and alleged that the Centre had not transferred the province’s full financial share.

Deficit outlook and political differences

Yousafzai said the chief minister and his team had tried to prepare a budget that would not create added burden for the public. He said it would be a realistic, deficit-based budget rather than a surplus or balanced one, with a shortfall expected at around Rs50 billion, and that expenditures would be aligned with funds actually received from the federal government.

He said education and health remained central sectors, while tourism, mines and minerals, water resources, and electricity generation were areas through which the province could move toward greater self-reliance. He added that work on both small and large power projects was under way and that tourism was receiving particular attention. Yousafzai also criticised the federal government for what he called non-cooperation, saying work on roads under the National Highway Authority was not moving forward and urging Islamabad to back the province’s development.

Separately, former provincial assembly speaker and PTI lawmaker Mushtaq Ghani told Geo News that 35 like-minded PTI members were due to meet at 2pm to decide their final strategy on the budget. He said the chief minister had earlier insisted that the budget would not be presented before a meeting with the PTI founder, but was now changing that position. Ghani also questioned how presenting the budget would place pressure on the federal government and said no effective pressure was being applied to secure meetings with the PTI founder.