During Monday’s budget session of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, Leader of the Opposition Dr. Ibadullah strongly criticized the former PTI-led governments for burdening the province with heavy debt. He claimed that KP’s debt had increased from Rs 150 billion to a staggering Rs 800 billion over the past 13 years.
The session which was chaired by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati saw heated debates over the budget. Dr. Ibadullah rejected the provincial finance adviser’s claim that the budget was surplus due to cost-cutting measures. He argued that in reality government spending had increased significantly.
He said that the entertainment budget for the Chief Minister’s Secretariat had gone from Rs 350 million this year to Rs1.10 billion for the next. He also raised concerns over the proposed Rs8.9 billion allocation for general administration which includes plans for building KP House and an alternate secretariat in Dera Ismail Khan.
He questioned the priorities of the government by saying, “A chief minister should focus on the entire province, not just one district.”
Dr. Ibadullah also expressed concern that the Chief Minister’s secret fund had grown from Rs 500 million to Rs2 billion and millions more were being spent on new vehicles and fuel. He pointed out that while Punjab which is a larger province spent Rs 1.46 billion on the CM Secretariat but KP’s expenses shot up to Rs1.66 billion. Balochistan only spent Rs 1.41 billion in comparison.
He further claimed that 35% of the Annual Development Programme (ADP) funds went unused and the Auditor General reported Rs 200 billion in financial irregularities.
KP’s finance adviser Muzammil Aslam clarified that any report on financial irregularities would only be valid once the financial year ends. He added that most of the concerns raised were related to the 2023–24 fiscal year when a caretaker setup was in place. He also stated that less than Rs 500 million from the secret fund had been used during 2024–25.
Dr. Ibadullah didn’t hold back politically either. He said PTI founder Imran Khan was the only leader in Pakistan’s history to be legally removed from the Prime Minister’s office via a no-confidence vote. He questioned why the current CM didn’t discuss the budget with Imran Khan during their meeting before Eid especially when Imran’s sister had posted on social media urging PTI members not to pass the budget under any circumstances.
Dr. Ibadullah accused Imran Khan of jailing his own nephew over a National Assembly speech and falsely framing opposition leader Rana Sanaullah with drugs due to political rivalry. He also questioned how the funds for merged tribal areas were handled during PTI’s tenure in the federal government.
PPP’s Ahmad Karim Kundi also criticized the assembly’s functioning by pointing out that there had been no formal discussion on the demand for grants in the last two years.
Despite earlier claims that the budget would only be passed after Imran Khan’s approval, Speaker Babar Saleem Swati clarified that the session was called based on the recommendations of PTI’s political leadership and parliamentary party.
Meanwhile the house has started debates on departmental cut motions as part of the process to pass the 2025–26 budget.
Also read this: Punjab Govt. Announces Rs 5.33 Trillion Budget for 2025-26
