Despite KP’s higher entitlement, Punjab managed to secure more funds, this biased approach reflects the ongoing neglect of smaller provinces: CM aide
PESHAWAR
Advisor to the Chief Minister on Finance and Inter-Provincial Coordination, has strongly criticized the federal government and WAPDA for what he called “discriminatory and biased behavior” towards the province in the release of Net Hydel Profit (NHP) funds.
In a statement issued from his office, Aslam said that while the federal government allocated only Rs 33 billion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under NHP for the fiscal year 2024–25, Punjab received a significantly higher amount of Rs 65.8 billion under the same head.
He emphasized that KP’s rightful claim under the AGN Qazi formula exceeds Rs 2.3 trillion and such unequal treatment by the center is unacceptable.
“Despite KP’s higher entitlement, Punjab has managed to secure more funds. This biased approach reflects the ongoing neglect of smaller provinces,” he said.
Aslam further pointed out that a scheduled meeting on August 5, 2025, chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning to discuss NHP issues, was abruptly postponed.
He termed it a deliberate delaying tactic intended to “disappoint the people and government of KP.”
In a separate statement, the Finance Advisor announced that the KP government has released the largest-ever grant to universities in the province’s history. He said that Rs 3.61 billion has been disbursed for payment of past pensions, and an upfront grant of Rs 1.529 billion has been released for the next three months—bringing the total released grants to Rs 5.223 billion.
Highlighting the government’s commitment to higher education, Aslam said that during the tenure of the caretaker government, Rs 1.5 billion was provided to universities. Under the leadership of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, this amount was increased to Rs 4.5 billion in the FY 2024–25 budget.
He added that Rs 10 billion has been allocated for universities for the financial year 2025–26, of which Rs 5.223 billion has already been released.
