Surplus budgets

The restive provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have endeavoured to post budget surplus to the tune of Rs157 billion and Rs36.5 billion, respectively, as they went on to project massive developmental outlays for FY26. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa led from the front as it came up with categorical statistics in a budget of Rs2119 billion, allocating Rs363 billion for education and Rs276 billion for health; raising the minimum wage to Rs40,000 per month (a step that the federal budget fell short of); and increasing salaries by 10% and pensions by 7%.

Likewise, the law and order-infected province has kept Rs158 billion for local security edifice (while expecting Rs1,147 billion in federal transfers) and allocating a generous Rs547 billion under Annual Development Programme, including Rs40 billion for the merged districts. The PTI-governed province has, however, complained that Islamabad has deducted Rs42 billion under the NFC Award.

Balochistan with a record outlay of Rs1.03 trillion has vowed to go on a development spree with an allocation of Rs349.5 billion. The provincial finance guru surprised all by claiming that the province has fully utilised the outgoing year's developmental budget of Rs219 billion — something that is contestable given the abject backwardness and revulsion all around.

The province's total receipts are projected at Rs801 billion, both from federal and straight transfers, as it goes on to generate Rs101 billion indigenously (including Rs48 billion from levy on services), apart from Rs104.5 billion from federal and foreign assistance for development.

Surprisingly though, there is no clear mention of allocations for health, education and law and order, whereas the troublesome province has come up with special funds of: Rs18 billion for eight more safe cities; Rs25 billion for Mashkel dam construction; Rs20 billion for public welfare; and Rs3 billion for sanitation schemes and 1,000 water filtration plants.

Last but not least, a first-of-its-kind climate grant of Rs500 million will be a litmus test as drought and floods repeatedly take a toll on the desolate province.