For the first time in history, Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Friday announced its budget of Rs1,754 billion ($6.3 billion) before the federal government, with one of its senior officials justifying the move based on provincial autonomy.
The KP government is led by former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, whose administration in Islamabad was ousted from power following a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022.
Since then, its leadership has struggled to stay politically afloat, with many of its members, including Khan, being incarcerated for several months in multiple legal cases. The PTI is now in the opposition at the center, where its lawmakers frequently clash with members of the treasury benches in a deeply polarized environment.
Speaking to the media, KP finance minister’s media officer, Anwar Khan Khattak, said a province could present its budget after the 18th amendment, which ensures autonomy to all federating units.
“We are not in competition either with provinces or the federal government,” he said. “We have our own exclusivity in terms of governance. That’s why we took a lead in presenting our budget.”
“A province only needs the federal government’s assistance in achieving tax targets,” he added.
However, Asmat Shah, a Peshawar-based journalist and expert on economic affairs, said provinces presented their budget after the federal government, saying the KP government’s decision to do the opposite would only widen the trust deficit with the administration in Islamabad.
