Imran opposes surplus budget under IMF condition

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the 2025-26 provincial budget without the approval of party founder Imran Khan, leading to intense backlash against Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur from within the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Several party leaders and workers have labeled the move a deviation from party policy and disobedience of leadership.

On social media, PTI activists criticized Ali Amin Gandapur, calling him and other PTI MPAs “traitors”. The key question now being raised is why Imran Khan wanted a briefing on the KP budget and what changes he intended to make.

Credible sources within the PTI told this correspondent that party patron-in-chief Imran Khan was not happy with the inclusion of Rs157 billion in surplus in the KP budget as per the IMF demands. He believes that the federal government is pushing the country further into debt and that this money should be spent on public welfare. Imran Khan has categorically opposed keeping any surplus to appease the IMF, and for this reason, he wanted a direct briefing on the provincial budget to redirect the surplus towards other development projects.

Sources further revealed that during former chief minister Mahmood Khan’s tenure, PTI had also refused to include a surplus budget. With this move, the KP government has potentially jeopardized Pakistan’s ongoing negotiations with the IMF just days before the scheduled board meeting.

Adviser to the Chief Minister on Information, Muhammad Ali Saif, con