Opp slams PTI govt for failing to safeguard KP’s rights

PESHAWAR: The opposition parties in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday criticised the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government for being unable to safeguard rights of the province. During general discussion on the annual budget for 2022-23, the opposition parties said the PTI had been ruling KP for nine years, but it still blamed the previous federal governments for not providing due share to the province from the federal divisible pool.

Ahmad Kundi of Pakistan People’s Party said the PTI remained in power for the about four years in centre but its provincial government failed to secure the arrears of the net hydel profit and the promised funds for the merged districts.

He claimed that the actual profit and electricity generation of Tarbela and Warsak dams were shown incorrect in the budget documents for the next financial year. “We are not doing politics on key issues including net hydel profit, royalty on oil and gas, our share in federal divisible pool,” he said and added that the economic issues must be resolved through political consensus and consultation.

Participating in the general discussion on annual budget, Ikhtiar Wali Khan of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz showed some documents in the provincial assembly, claiming that was the written agreement of PTI-led government with International Monetary Fund (IMF) that caused unprecedented price-hike and economic disability.

Finance Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra, who was supposed to be present in the House during the general debate on the budget, reached the provincial assembly when most of the lawmakers had delivered their speeches. In his speech, Taimur Salim Jhagra spent most of his time defending the policies of Imran Khan-led government in the centre. “As the present coalition government has come into power under a conspiracy, we have to reflect the vision, economic programme and manifesto of our party in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget,” he said. The minister said the provincial government did not compromise on getting its due share from the previous PTI-led federal government.