KP govt striving to keep next budget ‘equitable’, says finance minister

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Finance Muzzammil Aslam on Wednesday said that the provincial government was striving to keep the next budget equitable and spend public funds on public needs.

Responding to the provincial assembly’s members suggestions during the pre-budget session chaired by MPA Idrees Khattak here, Mr Aslam said that in the changing global situation, the province needed to save its resources and improve its service delivery.

“In the past, the province used to get funds from the Centre, donors and friendly countries, but this chain has been broken as the world has changed,” he said.

The minister said that in the past, the province used to receive funds from the Centre in case of natural disasters as well as for development projects.

Muzzammil says province needs to save resources, improve service delivery in changing global situation

He added that in some instances, the province also got aid and grants from donors and friendly countries but it was no longer the case.

Mr Aslam said that during and after last year’s floods, the province did not receive funds from the Centre, so the provincial government had to spend from its own resources.

He said that in the wake of the oil crisis, there were talks of shifting the responsibility of giving subsidy to bikers, diesel subsidy for upcoming wheat harvesting as well the Peshawar BRT subsidy to the provinces and the Centre was unlikely to shoulder that burden.

The minister said that his province needed to increase its resources.

He said that KP was the first province to set up the Climate Action Board, while the Ramzan Package assistance was given away to 1.6 million people across the province.

Mr Aslam said that the poor law and order situation had become the biggest issue of the province.

He said that the KP government was spending Rs450 billion on education but the issue was not of money but how to spend it.

The minister also said that the province’s Sehat Card health insurance scheme was greatly benefiting the residents.

He said that more services needed to be outsourced, with the government acting as regulator.

During the debate, the lawmakers pointed out the climate change, health, education and local government issues.

MPA Rehana Ismail said that the public representatives had little say in the budget formulation as the budget was prepared by the bureaucracy with the lawmakers just rubber-stamping it.

She proposed that every department present its budgetary proposals before the house’s relevant standing committee.

Minister Ismail said that the government was spending billions of rupees on the beautification of Peshawar.

He said CM Pervez Khattak’s government spent huge funds on beautification but all that was destroyed during the construction of the Peshawar BRT tracks.

MPA Ismail said that the government should also give local bodies its due share so that they could carry out necessary work at grassroots level.

Lawmaker Khadija Sardar demanded of authorities to grant the displaced persons’ status to the people of Arandu, who were relocated due to the Pak-Afghan conflict and currently lived in Dorsh area of Lower Chitral district.

She said that hundreds of families had been staying at a government school for a long time.

“Despite the help offered by the district administration, the government needs to take care of these people instead of letting them survive on charity away from their homes,” she said.

MPA Shahida Wahid urged the government to take steps to give people relief.

Members Arbab Waseem, Khalid Khan, Ajab Gul, Mehr Sultana , Shazia Tehmas and others also addressed the assembly.

Before the adjournment of the sitting, law minister Aftab Alam Afridi tabled a unanimous resolution urging the provincial government to prepare the next budget in light of 40 recommendations made by lawmakers.

However, a lack of quorum delayed voting on it. The head counting showed only 20 members present in the hall.

The chair later adjourned the session until next Monday.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2026

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