Surplus budget linked with payment of dues
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) cabinet has approved communicating the provincial government’s stance to the federal government that the K-P government would agree to the proposed budget surplus of Rs178 billion only if the federal government fulfilled its commitment to resolving the province’s financial issues, as discussed with the federal finance secretary.
Additionally, the approval has been made contingent on the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) completely achieving the revenue target set in the Budget Estimates 2024-25.
The tenth meeting of the cabinet was presided over by Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur on Thursday.
It was attended by ministers, advisors, special assistants, senior Board of Revenue member, additional chief secretaries and the relevant administrative secretaries.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding shared fiscal responsibilities for the 2024-25 financial year, intended to be signed between the federal government and all provincial governments was presented in the cabinet meeting.
It is noteworthy that the MoU on shared fiscal responsibilities had initially been presented in the cabinet meeting held on June 27. After due consideration, the cabinet had nominated the advisor to the chief minister on finance to address K-P’s financial issues with the Centre.
As a result, a K-P delegation had met the secretary of the finance division on July 2.
While debating and deciding on the draft Gandhara Corridor Act 2024 proposed by the Centre, the cabinet asserted that the Gandhara Corridor was a cultural heritage of K-P and was therefore a provincial matter.
Consequently, the cabinet approved the decision to communicate its reservations to the federal government and advised against legislating on this provincial subject.
The provincial cabinet has approved the forwarding of two resolutions from the provincial assembly to the federal government.
Resolution No. 2, presented by Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) Muhammad Yameen, calls for the immediate release of former prime minister Imran Khan and other political prisoners. Resolution No. 4, introduced by MPA Ahmad Kundi, addresses the issue of Palestine and urges the federal government to advocate for international awareness and action on the conflict in Palestine and to strive for convening an Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting on the matter.
The cabinet also decided to return Hamala House in Nathiagali back to the assembly. The property, the assembly’s sole asset in the northern areas for accommodating foreign and national delegations, had been transferred to the Culture and Tourism Department in 2020 based on a previous provincial cabinet decision.
A detailed report from the cabinet’s ministerial committee, which had been formed to investigate the engagement of private testing agencies by various departments and offices of K-P in violation of government orders, was also presented to the provincial cabinet.
The cabinet approved the committee’s recommendations.
The provincial cabinet also approved a monthly sustenance and food ration allowance for the additional 554 temporarily displaced families of the North Waziristan tribal district. The approval includes the release of Rs359.3176 million on a monthly basis instead of Rs348 million to meet the current requirement and Rs100.71 million for the clearance of the pending liabilities of the 554 families from October, 2023 to June, 2024.