Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has vowed to take a firm stand for the province’s rights, warning that any forceful action against them would have consequences.
Speaking at an event, CM Gandapur demanded the federal government pay Rs2 trillion in outstanding hydropower dues, saying K-P would not compromise on its rightful share of resources.
The chief minister criticised the delays in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, arguing that repeated ordinances were being used instead of proper consultation.
He urged the federal government to initiate talks on a fair revenue-sharing formula.
Gandapur also highlighted the funding shortfall following the merger of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), stating that K-P’s population had increased by 5.7 million, but financial support had remained inadequate.
“The federal government was supposed to provide Rs600 billion over six years, but we only received Rs132 billion. Since July, no funds have been allocated,” he said.
The K-P CM blamed constitutional disregard for past national crises, warning that lessons had not been learned from Pakistan’s history.
He said a lack of trust between the government and the people was damaging tax collection and financial stability.
He also signalled possible political action after Ramadan, stating, “I am giving you this time out of respect for Ramadan. After that, we will give you a surprise.”
Gandapur’s remarks come amid growing tensions between K-P and the federal government, with the province demanding greater financial autonomy and transparency in resource distribution.
Last week, in what seemed to be a bragging contest, the provincial governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) touted their "great" performances while belittling each other's work, with the chief minister of the latter challenging the chief minister of the former to a debate.
K-P Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur announced distributing free laptops among students in the K-P, a move initiated by various PML-N led governments. He said his government would provide the same percentage of students with laptops as the Punjab government.
In return, he urged the Punjab chief minister, Maryam Nawaz, to offer free health cards to citizens, just as the K-P government had done.
"Our government provided the entire population with the Sehat Card Plus and is now offering life insurance. The Punjab government should also extend these facilities to its entire population," he said.
Gandapur claimed that despite challenging circumstances, his government had increased revenue by 55%, urging Punjab to raise its revenue from 12% to 55% as well.
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