Opposition questions constitutional status of supplementary budget

PESHAWAR: The treasury benches in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly faced a tough time on Friday when the opposition questioned the constitutional status of the supplementary budget.

After recitation from the Holy Quran, Khushdil Khan of the Awami National Party (ANP), on a point of order, asked the government to clarify whether it was supplementary or excess budget.

Quoting Article 124 of the Constitution, he said that expenditures and heads reflected in the annual budget and approved by the cabinet included in the supplementary budget. He pointed out that expenditures incurred after the month of June which were not approved by the cabinet were called excess grants.

He argued that some of the expenditures in this budget did not fall in the category of the supplementary budget.