KP govt defends deficit budget, unveils welfare measures

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam and Information Minister Shafi Jan on Saturday defended the provincial budget during a joint press conference in Peshawar, rejecting criticism over the budget deficit and highlighting a range of welfare initiatives aimed at easing the financial burden on citizens.

Speaking on the occasion, Aslam said the National Economic Council (NEC) was not the relevant constitutional forum for the distribution of financial resources, maintaining that only the National Finance Commission (NFC) held the legal authority in this regard.

He explained that if the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) succeeds in collecting Rs5,260 billion, the funds would be distributed among the provinces under the NFC formula.

Aslam said the common man had been adversely affected by the policies of the federal government, adding that the provincial budget had been designed to improve the financial position of ordinary citizens.

Referring to the merged districts, he said the budget reflected a deficit of Rs121 billion and rejected the impression that the provincial government had transformed a surplus budget into a deficit one.

He said the federal government had released only Rs95 billion out of the promised Rs180 billion for the merged districts, creating financial challenges for the province.

The finance adviser noted that a significant portion of the provincial budget was consumed by salaries, which accounted for 58 percent of total expenditures. He added that the largest allocations had been made for the education, health and police sectors.

Among the key welfare measures announced, Aslam said Rs125 billion had been earmarked for the health card programme, while Rs14.5 billion had been allocated for police procurement and Rs6 billion for the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system.

He announced that Rs20 billion had been set aside to provide interest-free loans to talented students pursuing higher education abroad. In addition, the provincial government has allocated Rs500 million to introduce free public Wi-Fi across Peshawar.

Aslam also announced that the minimum monthly wage had been increased to Rs45,000, expressing hope that the private sector would also adopt the revised wage level.

Addressing the press conference, Information Minister Shafi Jan described the provincial budget as "historic," saying it had attracted greater public attention than the federal budget.

He revealed that the government's initial intention had been to present a budget covering only the first three months of the fiscal year, but legal complications prevented that approach.

Shafi Jan acknowledged that the province had presented a deficit budget and stated that no federal grant would be accepted without conditions. He said the release of any federal grant was linked to a meeting with the founder of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

"We will not allow any cuts until we meet with the PTI founder," the information minister said.