K-P meeting mulls austerity measures

A high-level meeting, chaired by the Caretaker Chief Minister of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Azam Khan, has concluded the finalization of the provincial budget.

The meeting focused on proposed expenditures for the current and development sides during the first four months of the upcoming financial year. The proposed expenditures will be presented to the caretaker provincial cabinet for final approval.

In attendance at the meeting were cabinet members Hamid Shah and Himayatullah Khan, Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Additional Chief Secretary Planning and Development Zubair Asghar Qureshi, Secretary Finance Muhammad Ayaz, and other relevant officials.

The meeting received a detailed briefing on various aspects of current and development expenditures anticipated in the initial four months of the fiscal year 2023-24.

The meeting also finalized proposals for implementing austerity measures aimed at creating maximum fiscal space for development. These proposed measures will be presented to the caretaker cabinet for final approval.

The proposals include short-term, mid-term, and long-term measures to expand fiscal space. A special meeting of the provincial caretaker cabinet is scheduled for the 20th, according to the meeting’s decision.

Addressing the occasion, the chief minister emphasized that the proposed expenditures for the first four months of the upcoming financial year have been finalized prudently, considering the prevailing financial constraints faced by the province. He acknowledged the caretaker setup’s efforts to navigate the province through this financial crunch since its inception.

The CM highlighted that the caretaker government has repeatedly raised the province’s financial issues with the federal government, seeking the rightful shares under various federal transfers, including NFC share for the newly merged districts, net hydel profits, oil and gas royalties, among others.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2023.