CM Afridi vows peace in FY27 as KP Assembly passes Rs2.17tr budget

PESHAWAR: As the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Wednesday passed an Rs2.17 trillion budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 (FY27), bulldozing the cut motions and approving grants of all the departments, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the coming fiscal year will be one of peace, prosperity and development for the province.

The FY27 budget for KP was presented on June 20, with CM Afridi saying that the provincial government would not give any grants to the federal government, and that any decision on providing additional funds to the Centre would be made by PTI founder Imran Khan.

“We cannot develop unless there is peace, and this is why we have enhanced the budget for police to Rs40 billion in order to equip them, develop infrastructure, enhance capacity and remove all shortcomings,” the chief minister said today while addressing lawmakers in the KP Assembly.

The chief minister, during the session chaired by KP Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati, stated that Peshawar, which was the provincial capital and gave an “overwhelming majority” to the PTI, was allocated the second-largest amount in the budget.

CM Afridi stated that with almost Rs100 billion extra, the throw forward would be reduced and there would be visible changes in the health and education sectors.

“We are bringing the Insaf Buzurg Card for people above 60 years of age so they can travel free of cost on the BRT,” he said, adding that there were huge allocations for several districts and that funds were allocated without any discrimination.

“Your federal ministers had promised the completion of the Khyber Institute of Child Health, but allocated only Rs300 million. We, through bridge financing, will complete the project,” CM Afridi told the opposition leader, the PML-N’s Dr Ibadullah Khan.

The CM stated that the dam in Swat was ready, but a no-objection certificate (NOC) was required to complete the remaining technical work and had not been issued by the federal government.

CM Afridi also said that the KP government would invest in the merged districts from its own resources.

“We did not celebrate passing the budget because we will celebrate Khan sahib’s release as the nation does not want anyone else but Khan sahib,” he said, contending that the entire country had been suffering due to the decisions taken behind closed doors.

The PTI leader stated that the party had knocked on every door, but even the provincial chief executive was refused a meeting with Imran.

“We are [tolerating it] and will tolerate it, but you will not be able to tolerate it,” he said, in an apparent reference to the federal government.

CM Afridi told the opposition leader that the Centre had been holding over Rs4tr and refusing to give the province its share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award.

He also questioned whether the federal government brought about an industrial or agricultural revolution, claiming that the country’s imports were almost double the exports and that the trade deficit was around $36bn.

Additionally, CM Afridi noted that the GDP growth — which was once 6 per cent during Imran’s government — had dropped to 3pc.

Earlier, Ibadullah complained about bulldozing the cut motions and not allowing the opposition lawmakers to speak about the issues being faced by people in their respective constituencies.

“I was not expecting this from the chair to bulldoze cut motions by lawmakers on funds allocated for government departments. This should not have happened, and bulldozing the cut motions is unfair,” he complained.

The chair stated that powers were exercised with the consent of lawmakers from both the treasury and opposition benches.

The opposition leader claimed that not even a single penny was allocated for opposition lawmakers and asked the chief minister to carry the opposition lawmakers along with him as well.

He stated that there were potential areas where the KP government could generate revenue, but that the government had no roadmap and therefore could not develop the province since 2013.

Ibadullah stated that the energy, mines and minerals, and tourism sectors could generate huge finances for the province, adding that the pre- and post-budget debates should be considered and implemented.

Speaking in the assembly, PPP’s Ahmad Karim Kundi stated that all parties should develop a Charter of Economy and that the currently missing socioeconomic indicators must be made available.

The chief minister’s adviser on finance, Muzammil Aslam, stated that the rules of business should be framed so that the throw forward was capped, and that rules be framed for debt management and developmental projects.

KP Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi stated that lawmakers highlighted meagre allocations, but that it was not the case.

He noted that during the outgoing FY25-26, some 323 schemes were removed, while Rs71bn were allocated for 523 schemes, which would also be scrapped.

The minister argued that although the throw forward was 7.7 years, it was less than that of the Punjab and Sindh governments.

Follow Dawn Business on X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook for insights on business, finance and tech from Pakistan and across the world.