PESHAWAR: Reacting to the Punjab government’s decision to purchase an aircraft, Adviser to Chief Minister on Finance Muzzammil Aslam on Sunday said the Punjab government has not paid compensation to flood victims yet, questioning the rationale behind the decision to buy another plane.
The Punjab already had one jet and two helicopters whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had one helicopter only, Muzzammil Aslam said in a post shared on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
He said that the financial position of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was stable. The province has secured more than Rs600 billion in various investments, delivered a surplus budget of over Rs350 billion in the past 18 months, and earned more than Rs25 billion in financial income from investments over the last year.
The finance adviser said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s education budget stood at Rs440 billion, which was 22 percent of the total budget. The health budget was Rs280 billion, and the security budget was Rs180 billion.
He added that this year alone, Rs41 billion had been spent on the Sehat Card programme. He further said that since 2019, there has been no increase in the salaries of MPAs and cabinet members in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He added that since 2022, there has been a ban on the purchase of vehicles in the province, fuel cuts introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic have not been restored, and there was a ban on official business trips and medical treatment abroad.
The finance adviser stated that the total budget of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the current year was Rs2,119 billion. He said the provincial government can afford to buy helicopters, planes, and other privileges and facilities, but the policy of the founding chairman, Imran Khan, was to serve the nation.
