KP cuts chief minister’s discretionary fund to Rs400 million

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has lowered the chief minister’s discretionary fund to Rs400 million in the 2026-27 budget, according to Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam.

Speaking during a session of the provincial assembly, Aslam said the allocation had been reduced from Rs500 million provided in the previous budget. The clarification came after JUI lawmaker Rehana Ismail raised the issue on the assembly floor and said discretionary allocations for chief ministers had gone up over time.

Rehana Ismail cited figures she said were allocated to former and current chief ministers, including Rs30 million for Pervez Khattak, Rs40 million for Mahmood Khan, Rs500 million for Ali Amin Gandapur, and Rs4.4 billion for Sohail Afridi.

Responding to that claim, the finance adviser told the House that the Rs4.4 billion amount appeared in the budget papers because of a technical mistake. He said the error had since been corrected in the budget documents, and maintained that the chief minister’s discretionary fund for the new fiscal year stands at Rs400 million.