By Fakhar-e-Alam PESHAWAR, Jun 20 (APP):As customers haggled over mangoes and peaches in a bustling Peshawar market, 55-year-old fruit seller Zakir Khan stood quietly at a roadside bookstall, flipping through the pages of a newspaper. His weathered hands paused at headlines detailing the newly announced Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget for 2026-27 at Hasthnsgri bazzar, where, for a moment, he seemed hopeful, then came towards his handcart with sheer disappointment. "I was …
For many in KP, budget success depends on service delivery, not declarations
By Fakhar-e-Alam
PESHAWAR, Jun 20 (APP):As customers haggled over mangoes and peaches in a bustling Peshawar market, 55-year-old fruit seller Zakir Khan stood quietly at a roadside bookstall, flipping through the pages of a newspaper.
His weathered hands paused at headlines detailing the newly announced Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget for 2026-27 at Hasthnsgri bazzar, where, for a moment, he seemed hopeful, then came towards his handcart with sheer disappointment.
“I was looking for something in KP budget that could really improve the lives of labourers,” said Zakir, who has spent the last 25 years selling fruit to support his eight-member family. “We need good schools for our children and affordable hospitals for treatment, besides houses. A small increase in wages alone does not solve our problems.”
Like many daily wage earners and small traders across the province, Zakir followed the budget announcements with cautious interest. While the government highlighted new welfare initiatives and development projects, many working-class citizens questioned whether the promised benefits would reach them.
“The real issue of Rs 45,000 minimum wages announced for labourers is implementation,” he said. “Even existing labour laws are not fully enforced in KP.”
The provincial budget has generated diverse reactions from different segments of society. In a rural area on the outskirts of Peshawar, farmer Riaz Khan welcomed the government’s focus on agriculture and livestock. He said increased allocations for farming and reduced taxes could provide much-needed support to growers struggling with rising production costs.
“I am particularly pleased to see KP Govt attention being given to the agriculture sector,” he said, adding farmers need support if food production is to increase to meet pressing food requirements of a rapidly increasing population.”
He also appreciated allocations for the health card programme, social welfare initiatives, and improved resources for law enforcement.
For many citizens, however, the budget represents more than numbers on paper. It reflects hopes for employment, education, healthcare and economic stability at a time when inflation and rising living costs continue to strain household budgets.
While ordinary citizens weighed the potential impact on their daily lives, opposition parties launched strong criticism of the government’s financial plan.
Awami National Party Provincial President Mian Iftikhar Hussain rejected the KP budget, describing it as a manipulation of words and a magic show of figures.
He argued that despite tall claims of development spending, critical sectors such as education and healthcare remained underfunded.
Pointing to the millions of children still out of school in KP, he questioned whether allocations matched the scale of the province’s challenges.
Opposition leaders in the KP Assembly echoed similar concerns, alleging that the budget offers insufficient relief for low-income families and vulnerable communities. They also questioned funding priorities and the distribution of development projects across districts.
The provincial government, however, defended the budget as a people-centred development plan designed to improve public services and stimulate economic growth.
Addressing a post-budget press conference, Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam said the KP budget exceeds Rs2.1 trillion and focuses heavily on education, health and public welfare.
Among the flagship initiatives are free public Wi-Fi in Peshawar, interest-free loans for students and overseas workers, E-bike and E-rickshaw schemes, support for farmers through the Ehsaas Kisan Card, educational assistance for girls and orphans, and internship opportunities for youth.
The government has also allocated significant funds for the health card programme, social welfare schemes and police modernisation.
“We have set our priorities according to the needs of the province,” Aslam said, rejecting criticism that the budget neglects public welfare.
Back at the market, the political debate unfolding in assembly halls and press conferences feels distant from Zakir Khan’s daily reality.
For him, the true test of the budget will not be the size of allocations or the number of announced schemes, but whether they bring tangible improvements to ordinary families struggling to make ends meet.
As he folded the newspaper and returned to his fruit cart, Zakir summed up the sentiment shared by many working-class citizens across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“Budgets come every year. What matters is whether life becomes easier for people like us.”
For now, thousands of labourers, farmers, traders and low-income families across the province are watching closely, waiting to see whether the promises made in the budget will translate into meaningful change in their everyday lives.
