Treasury MPs get Rs43 billion

The government has approved the release of Rs43 billion to give Rs250 million to every member of the National Assembly from treasury benches for development spending as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says such spending is skewed towards districts belonging to the ruling parties.

Government sources told The Express Tribune that a steering committee on the Sustainable Development Goals Achievement Programme (SAP) approved the release of Rs43 billion for parliamentarians. They said that funds would be spent on small-scale development schemes in the constituencies of ruling alliance legislators during the current fiscal year – 2025-26.

The Rs43 billion spending is part of a package of Rs50 billion, which SAP approved in August 2025 for schemes recommended by the parliamentarians. Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar chairs the steering committee, which decides the allocation for discretionary spending among members of the National Assembly.

Funds had been approved weeks before the approval of the 27th Constitutional Amendment. The government had also given discretionary funds to the ruling party MPs in the last fiscal year.

Sources said that out of the Rs43 billion, the lion's share of Rs23.5 billion has been given for MPs' schemes in Punjab. The province, run by the PML-N, will get 54.5% of the total money. A major chunk of Rs17.6 billion will be spent through the government of Punjab, according to the sources.

The federal government will also spend Rs5.9 billion in Punjab on village electrification schemes. Another Rs40 million will be spent through the Defence Division, according to the decision.

However, the recent Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment of the IMF takes a critical look at the discretionary spending. The IMF underlined that the federal government retains significant discretionary power over how public money is spent given significant differences between enacted budgets and how public money is actually spent, in an environment with limited public transparency or parliamentary engagement in budgetary matters.

"Discretionary allocations are skewed towards districts represented in the government or the senior bureaucracy, reflecting the vulnerability of the system to political influence," the IMF said.

The spending on schemes recommended by the members of parliament has been used as a tool since the 1980s to exercise influence.

The IMF said that in 2013, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a ruling on the interpretation and application of Article 84 of the Constitution in relation to the discretionary powers granted to the federal government on budgetary issues. This was initiated through a petition to the apex court, seeking a decision on whether the constitution allows the executive to allocate funds through supplementary grants at its sole discretion.

The IMF further said that rule-based governance is often weakened by the discretionary allocation of economic advantages to well-connected actors and state-affiliated entities, which adds to institutional complexity and opacity.

Sources said that out of Rs43 billion, Sindh-based MPs would get Rs15.3 billion for spending on their preferred schemes. This is equal to 35.5% of the total. An amount of Rs10.9 billion will be spent through the government of Sindh while Rs4.3 billion will be given through the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company, according to the sources.

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the ruling alliance has a very thin presence, will get Rs1.3 billion, according to the sources. Out of this, Rs940 million will be given through the Pakistan Infrastructure Development Company and another Rs310 million will be spent on electricity supply schemes.

The government has also authorised the release of Rs2.3 billion for the schemes to be executed in Balochistan. The entire amount will be spent through the provincial government.

The federal capital territory would get Rs750 million as part of its share, to be spent in the constituencies of three members of the National Assembly, said the sources. The major chunk of Rs700 million would be given through the local administration and the remaining would be utilised by the Power Division, they added.

There have been concerns about the effective utilisation of these funds as the schemes are not vetted through normal channels.

After the steering committee's decision, the money is handed over to the Cabinet Division, which then passes it on to the respective provinces for spending purposes. The Planning Commission releases the entire amount in one tranche to the Cabinet Division.