PTI rejects Centre’s claim of Rs600bn aid to KP

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Wednesday outright rejected the federal government’s ‘false and misleading’ claim that Rs600 billion had been provided to PTI government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for the war on terrorism.

PTI Information Secretary Waqas Akram noted that instead, the centre owes the province a staggering Rs5,050 billion under the heads of the war on terror and other constitutionally guaranteed rights.

Reacting to the federal government’s claims, Waqas Akram issued a statement and flayed the federal government for its ‘flawed’ policy and approach towards countering terrorism and for treating KP like a stepchild, despite the province having borne the heaviest human, economic, and security toll of the conflict.

Waqas alleged that the ‘imposed’ regime has unleashed its cronies and acrobats to target the KP government in a desperate attempt to conceal its own failures, which have led to an alarming resurgence in terrorism.

He highlighted that Pakistan’s war on terror inflicted economic losses exceeding US$67.9 billion (approximately Rs5 trillion) by 2011, with losses amounting to US$13.56 billion in FY2009-10 alone — the majority of which were borne by KP and the erstwhile FATA region.

Giving breakup of the KP’s outstanding dues, Waqas noted that the centre still owed a whooping Rs5,050 billion under the heads of the war on terror and other constitutionally guaranteed rights. He pointed out that the federal government owed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs2,000 billion for the merged districts, Rs2,500 billion under Net Hydel Profit (NHP), and Rs550 billion under the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP), while the province received only a meagre Rs1.5 billion over the past seven years under the AIP.

He recalled that the federal government had committed to provide Rs100 billion annually for 10 years — totalling Rs1 trillion — to the merged districts under AIP, as part of the ‘tribal decade strategy’ aimed at developing the long-neglected former tribal areas. However, he lamented that the federal government failed to honour this commitment despite repeated reminders and requests, even amid an alarming resurgence of terrorism in the region.

Referring to KP’s 1pc “war on terror” share, the PTI spokesman reminded the government that under the 7th NFC Award (2009), the province was granted an additional 1pc share from the federal divisible pool in recognition of its frontline role and extraordinary sacrifices in the national war on terror.

He stated, “This share is compensatory — a recognition of KP’s immense security, social, and economic burden — not a privilege”. Waqas asserted that the province rightfully deserved this share, as it had been the epicentre of nearly all major military operations since 2009.

Waqas noted that these included Operation Rah-e-Raast (2009 – Swat and adjoining areas), Operation Rah-e-Nijat (2009 – South Waziristan), Operation Zarb-e-Azb (2014 – North Waziristan), Khyber-I to IV Operations (2014–2017 – Khyber District), Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad (2017 – nationwide, with a primary focus on KP and merged districts), Operation Azm-e-Istehkam (2024–ongoing – counterterrorism campaign), and Fitna-al-Khawarij (ongoing – targeting extremist groups in merged areas).

He stated that KP’s security expenditure has grown exponentially in the last 15 years, especially in the past 5 years, adding that since 2010, KP has spent over Rs260 billion more than it received under the 1pc war on terror share.

The PTI spokesman said that these funds were primarily used for reconstruction and rehabilitation in Swat, Dir Lower, Dir Upper, and Buner — the areas heavily damaged by insurgency and military operations.