Presenting 2018-19 budget mandate of next govt: CM

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Pervez Khattak said on Sunday that his government would not present the annual budget for next fiscal year.

He also asked the federal government not to present annual budget for the year 2018-19 in May this year as it would be the mandate of next elected governments to present the budget.

Speaking at a news conference at the Chief Minister’s House, Pervez Khattak said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government would complete its five-year tenure before June and would also announce interim setup ahead of the general election in the province.

“I suggest to the federal and the provincial governments to leave the announcement of the budget to the next government,” he said.

The chief minister said he had some names in mind for the office of caretaker chief minister and would discuss them with the opposition leader and parliamentary party leaders of other political parties in the province.

He also announced an electoral agreement with former federal minister Salim Safiullah Khan in Lakki Marwat district for contesting the next general election.

Under the agreement, Salim Saifullah would be the joint candidate of the Saifullah family and the PTI on the National Assembly seats from Lakki Marwat even though he would contest the polls as an independent candidate.

Under the agreement, the Saifullah brothers would support the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidates for the provincial assembly seats in Lakki Marwat.

Pervez Khattak criticised the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) for imposing ban on new development projects and recruitment in the province. He pointed out that some MPAs had moved the courts against the decision.

“This is an unconstitutional step on the part of the ECP as the election schedule has yet to be announced,” the chief minister argued. He pointed out that the present governments had been elected for five years and their term has not yet ended.

To a question, the chief minister said that some PTI MPAs who had voted against the party candidates in the Senate election were now joining other political parties, but they would be exposed.

“There are about 14 PTI MPAs who had not voted for party candidates in the Senate election,” he added.

Conceding his government’s failure to complete the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project in Peshawar as per its schedule, the chief minister said that the project was supposed to be inaugurated on April 20.

However, he maintained that now some of its portions would be opened on May 20 this year. “This would be the fastest projects to be completed in such a short span of time,” he said. He asserted that local people were satisfied with the work on the project and blamed the media and his political rivals for objecting to this people-friendly project.

Speaking on the occasion, Salim Saifullah said that he would contest the next election as an independent candidate and his brothers including Anwar Saifullah Khan would support him.

It may be added that Anwar Saifullah Khan is a leader of the PPP and had remained its provincial president. “I would remain independent,” he added.

He recalled that his family and supporters backed the PTI candidates in the by-elections and local government polls in Lakki Marwat.