PTI Counters Federal Ministers’ Criticism with KP Police Budget and Security Spending Figures
ISLAMABAD:Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram has defended the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s performance on policing and security, citing budgetary allocations and financial assistance for the families of security personnel killed in the line of duty.
In a post on social media platform X, Sheikh Waqas Akram said the party had responded with figures and statistics to a press conference held by Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and PTI-affiliated political opponent-turned-government ally Ikhtiar Wali Khan.
According to the figures shared by the PTI information secretary, the overall budget of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police stands at Rs191.4 billion, accounting for 8.8 per cent of the provincial budget. He put the total number of police personnel in the province at approximately 140,000.
Akram said the allocation for purchasing police weapons had been increased from Rs3.4 billion to Rs14.52 billion.
He also claimed that the provincial government was providing financial assistance not only to the families of police personnel killed in the line of duty but also to the families of martyred army personnel.
According to his statement, Rs1.833 billion had been released to support the families of the fallen personnel.
The PTI leader further claimed that the federal government owed Rs54 billion to the province in outstanding funds for temporarily displaced persons (TDPs). He added that another Rs17 billion had been allocated for TDPs in the 2026–27 fiscal year.
Akram challenged Attaullah Tarar and Ikhtiar Wali Khan to respond to these figures rather than make allegations against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
### Federal Government Criticises KP Administration
The PTI’s response followed a press conference by Federal Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, who appeared alongside Ikhtiar Wali Khan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPA Jalal Khan.
Tarar alleged that the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been deprived of adequate healthcare, education and security during the past 13 and a half years.
He also criticised Chief Minister Sohail Afridi, alleging that his administration was focusing on political confrontation rather than governance and was contributing to an environment conducive to unrest and terrorism.
In contrast, Tarar said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was advancing development initiatives, including information technology parks, through continued monitoring.
The federal information minister stressed that the public needed tangible results rather than political slogans.
The exchange highlights the continuing political dispute between the federal government and the PTI-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration over governance, security spending and responsibility for the province’s development. The budgetary figures and claims cited by both sides were not independently verified in the statements provided.
