PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Saturday announced that it could not provide funds to the federal government without the consent of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan.
Speaking at the post-budget press conference at the Civil Secretariat here, Adviser to Chief Minister on Finance Muzzammil Aslam said the federal government had been sent a clear message that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cannot provide funds to the federation without meeting PTI founder Imran Khan.
Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafiullah Jan was also present on this occasion.
Muzzammil Aslam said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had set a tax collection target of Rs15,268 billion, while the federal government intended to retain more than Rs13,350 billion.
“The federal government cannot unilaterally withhold provincial funds without a constitutional amendment. Under the Constitution, divisible pool revenues are first transferred to the provinces, which may then decide to provide funds to the federation,” he maintained.
Muzzammil Aslam said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had never agreed to provide funds to the federal government. He announced that the provincial government was preparing to move the Federal Constitutional Court against ‘injustice and discrimination’ against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award.
Muzzammil Aslam said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had estimated total revenues of Rs2,122 billion for the financial year 2026-27, representing an increase of 0.1 percent compared to Rs2,119 billion in FY 2025-26.
Federal transfers, including the provincial share in federal taxes, one-percent share for the war against terrorism, straight transfers, windfall levy proceeds and net hydel profits, are estimated at Rs1,584.9 billion, a five percent increase over Rs1,506.9 billion last year, he added.
He said that revenue generated from provincial sources was projected at Rs182.4 billion, an increase of 41 percent from Rs129.0 billion last year. “Provincial tax revenues are estimated at Rs115.9 billion, up 39 percent from Rs83.5 billion, while non-tax revenues are projected at Rs66.5 billion, a 46 percent increase from Rs45.5 billion,” he added.
The finance adviser said grants for the merged districts had been estimated at Rs199.1 billion, which was 32 percent lower than the Rs292.3 billion allocated previously.
Muzzammil Aslam said that total expenditures for FY 2026-27 had been estimated at Rs2,170 billion, an 11 percent increase over the Rs1,962 billion budgeted for FY 2025-26.
“Current expenditures have been estimated at Rs1,645.7 billion, which is 16 percent higher than Rs1,415.0 billion last year,” he said, adding that the current budget for settled districts stood at Rs1,465.7 billion, a 17 percent increase over Rs1,255.0 billion, while the current budget for merged districts is Rs180 billion, up 13 percent from Rs160 billion.
The total development budget has been set at Rs524.3 billion, which is four percent lower than the previous allocation of Rs547.0 billion.
The Annual Development Programme (ADP) for settled districts has been increased to Rs235.0 billion from Rs195.0 billion, reflecting a 21 percent rise. He said the ADP for merged districts had been set at Rs34.8 billion, compared to Rs40.0 billion last year, a decrease of 13 percent.
Muzzammil Aslam said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had allocated Rs50.8 billion for the Sehat Card programme, including the merged districts, and has spent Rs125 billion on the programme over the last three years.
He added that the budget for Medical Teaching Institutions (MTIs) had been increased from Rs65.6 billion to Rs80 billion for FY 2026-27. An allocation of Rs14.35 billion has been made for the outsourcing of hospitals, including 72 new hospitals.
Muzzammil Aslam said that the budget for public universities had been increased from Rs10 billion to Rs11.8 billion. An allocation of Rs5 billion had been made for schools for out-of-school children, Rs19.3 billion for good governance initiatives and Rs17 billion for temporarily displaced persons, he added.
Muzzammil Aslam said that several new initiatives had been included in the budget, including Rs2 billion for the Ehsaas Kisan Programme, Rs12 billion for Disaster Risk Management Fund, Rs2 billion for interest payments under Ehsaas programmes, Rs2 billion for interest-free loans for university students, Rs2 billion for interest-free loans for overseas workers and Rs2.5 billion for interest-free loans for e-bikes and e-rickshaws.
