Says cuts on NMAs promised funds unacceptable
\n ISLAMABAD
\nChief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Monday demanded of the federal government to clear outstanding dues worth Rs189 billion under various heads of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying since Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has taken power, funds flow to the province withheld to create financial instability in KP.
\n\u201cFederal Government owes Rs 189 billion to KP. Since the regime change at the center level, financial constraints are being created for the province and federal transfers are being withheld to create financial instability in the province, \u201c he added and warned the federal government of staging a sit-in in front of the National Assembly along with the opposition.
\nAddressing a press conference along with Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Khalid Khurshid Khan and the Finance Ministers of Azad Kashmir, KP and Punjab KP House Islamabad, Mahmood Khan said that the imported government, since its inception, is trying to marginalize KP and hurdles are being created on every step.
\nHe stated that the incumbent federal government has placed a considerable cut on the funds of newly merged districts despite the fact that the merged districts need special investment to address their long-standing deprivations.
\nHe said that federal government has allocated only Rs 60 billion current grant for newly merged districts in 2022-23 against a minimum current budget requirement of Rs 89.5 billion for salary and non salary expenditures.
\nSimilarly, 55 billion rupees have been allocated for development projects in the merged districts, out of which only 5.5 billion rupees have been released till date.
\nThe Chief Minister further said that in the federal budget for the financial year 2022-23, no funds have been allocated for the temporarily displaced persons while in the financial year 2021-22, Rs 17 billion were allocated out of which only Rs 5.1 billion were released.
\nMoreover, the present federal government has also stopped the health card funds of the merged districts, which is 4.5 billion rupees annually, and now the KP government is bearing the costs of the health card of the merged districts from its own kitty. The Chief Minister said that the share of Pakhtunkhwa fixed in the National Finance Commission award is not being given, while 61 billion rupees are also due with the federal government on account of Net Hydel Profit.
\nThe chief minister said that the federal government has washed out the development projects of KP from the Public Sector Development Program which were reflected in the tenure of PTI led Federal government. The Chief Minister went on saying that 10 billion rupees were promised for the rehabilitation of the flood affectees in KP, but not even a penny has been released till date.
\nMahmood Khan questioned that \u2018 is KP not a part of Pakistan? \u201cIf it is, then give us our right\u201d. And if they won\u2019t, we will stage a sit-in outside the National Assembly.
\nHe added that\u2019 I am not asking for any extra money, I am asking only for the due rights and share of the province.\u2019 Mahmood Khan remarked that federal government is not even giving the provincial government a sovereign guarantee so that we can take loans from a third party.
\nHe maintained that, several letters have already been written to the federal government to resolve the financial issues of the province but to no avail.
\nThe chief minister said that the provincial government presented a budget of 1.3 trillion rupees and it includes all the projects that have direct impact on the quality of life of its citizens.
\nHe made it clear that if the federal government does not pay the arrears of the province, the people of KP will march towards Islamabad for their due rights.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Says cuts on NMAs promised funds unacceptable ISLAMABAD Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Monday demanded of the federal government to clear outstanding dues worth Rs189 billion under various heads of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, saying since Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) has taken power, funds flow to the province withheld to create financial instability in KP. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-300810","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n