PESHAWAR, Jun 19 (APP):Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao on Friday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had no plans for the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In a statement issued from Watan Kor here, he questioned the logic behind the projected budget deficit of Rs48 billion. “The government claims that deficit will be covered from provincial savings without taking loans, which is not practical approach,” …
PTI has no plan to develop Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: QWP
PESHAWAR, Jun 19 (APP):Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) provincial Chairman Sikandar Hayat Khan Sherpao on Friday said that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government had no plans for the development of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In a statement issued from Watan Kor here, he questioned the logic behind the projected budget deficit of Rs48 billion.
“The government claims that deficit will be covered from provincial savings without taking loans, which is not practical approach,” he said. “How will the government meet this deficit if it does not take a loan?” he asked.
He said that the KP government was hoping to get Rs116 billion under the Net Hydel Profit arrears, but it was also a pipe dream.
He said the provincial budget for the financial year 2026-27 offered no substantial relief.
The PTI, he added, had been ruling KP for the last 13 years, but it has miserably failed to deliver on all fronts,” he remarked.
“It is a so-called tax-free budget which was presented in sheer disregard for the ground realities,” he remarked.
He said that the KP government would be unable to get the target of Rs182 billion provincial receipts.
He criticised the PTI government for the seven percent increase in the salary and pension of the government employees and said that it was insufficient keeping in view the sharp increase in inflation.
Sikandar Sherpao said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was facing resurgence of militancy and the law and order was worsening day by day but the government had made no significant allocation for the police.
The QWP leader said that the law and order was a pressing issue but the government had ignored this.
He was also critical of the provincial government for meager allocations for health and education sectors.
Sikandar Sherpao said that the government did not make any allocation for the youth, rejecting the budget as contradictory and accused the ruling PTI of misleading masses by ignoring ground realities. No allocations were made for any major youth initiative, he added.
Sikandar Sherpao said the budget was nothing more than a play on words and it would fail to deliver on the government’s promises.
He criticised the provincial government for its failure to secure the province’s constitutional and financial rights from the federal government. “The PTI-led government, instead of fighting for the province’s rights, has remained focused on protests and the release of a specific individual,” he said, in an apparent reference to former prime minister Imran Khan.
He said that the province should eliminate corruption and misuse of resources.
He also slammed the idea of making the budget’s approval conditional upon the endorsement of the PTI founder, calling it undemocratic. “This amounts to undermining the collective voice of the elected assembly and prioritising the opinion of one individual, which has no place in democratic traditions,” he said.
Referring to a recent economic survey, he said that poverty rate hovered at around 29 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He said that the KP government did not play its role to secure the promised three percent funds for the merged districts.
He said that the royalty for gas and oil also stood at the same ratio which was fixed 16 years ago. He said that the provincial government did not raise this issue at the National Economic Council.
He said that the KP government should raise voice for a fresh National Finance Commission Award.
He expressed fear that the provincial government would present a supplementary budget.
He recalled that the chief secretary had recently formed a committee to improve governance, adding that forming the body was a proof of poor governance in KP.
