Jhagra slams interim govt’s four-page budget

Highlights that the federal govt owed over Rs200 billion to the province

PESHAWAR:

Former Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Friday strongly criticised the caretaker government for presenting a four-month budget in as many pages.

Jhagra highlighted that the federal government owed over Rs200 billion to the province. In a series of tweets regarding the province's quadrennial budget, Jhagra questioned how the province could allocate Rs115 billion for the salaries and allowances of employees.

He noted the absence of a white paper and the Citizen Budget, as well as the exclusion of revenue details received by the province. “These intentional omissions create ambiguity,” Jhagra said, demanding of the caretaker government to provide explanations.