KP Finance Advisor Warns Federal Government Over Funding and IMF Surplus Promises

Peshawar:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Finance Advisor, Muzammil Aslam, has issued a stern warning to the federal government, stating that if the province does not receive the allocated funds, it should not expect any surplus commitments from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In an interview with Geo News, Muzammil Aslam revealed that this year, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was supposed to receive 400 billion rupees for the merged districts, but only 70 billion rupees were allocated, combining the Annual Development Program (ADP) and the budget. The final amount to be disbursed from these 70 billion rupees will only be known by June 30, 2025.

Aslam criticized the federal government for increasing the budgets for Kashmir by 50% and for Gilgit-Baltistan by 37%, while the budget for tribal districts saw no increase. He asserted that the federal government has been clearly informed about this unfair treatment.

He added that the federal government was advised that funds should be allocated in proportion to salary increases, but the response was that discussions with the IMF had taken place and that the situation would be reviewed next year.

Muzammil Aslam emphasized that if the federal government fails to release the funds, it should not expect the province to meet the IMF’s surplus commitments. He noted that managing the surplus will be challenging without the electricity profit and royalty payments, which have been delayed for the past two years.

He also pointed out that the estimated revenue for the current year is 93 billion rupees, up from last year’s 70 billion rupees. Aslam stressed the need for a new National Finance Commission (NFC) award to ensure fair distribution, which the federal government has yet to approve.