Afridi announces pen-down strike

ISLAMABAD:

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi Tuesday announced a province-wide pen-down strike on Wednesday (today), directing government employees to suspend routine administrative work in protest against what the provincial government terms the Centre's "discriminatory treatment" in financial and constitutional matters.

In an official statement, Afridi alleged that the federation was deliberately discriminating against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the distribution of the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award as well as in electricity and gas allocations, claiming the province was being targeted because it is governed by a PTI-led administration.

"The federation is deliberately discriminating against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in the NFC Award, electricity and gas allocations. A province-wide pen-down strike will be observed on May 6. Emergency services will remain exempt," the statement read.

The chief minister also appealed to lawyers to participate in the protest, describing it as a move for the "protection of the Constitution and rule of law."

The appeal to the legal fraternity and reference to constitutional protection comes amid broader political tensions, with the K-P government in recent weeks also raising concerns related to PTI leadership, including matters involving Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi.

The strike is announced amid a series of engagements between the provincial and federal governments over financial transfers and constitutional fiscal arrangements that have remained a point of contention in recent months.

The NFC dispute dates back to the 2009–10 award, but K-P's grievances intensified after the 2018 merger of tribal districts, which increased demands for federal funding. The issue resurfaced in 2026 through formal communication and high-level meetings between the two sides.

On January 15, 2026, Chief Minister Afridi wrote to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, raising concerns over delays in federal transfers under the NFC Award particularly those related to merged districts.

The matter was taken up in a meeting between the prime minister and Afridi on February 2, 2026, focusing on NFC transfers, outstanding federal dues to K-P, and coordination on governance and security matters.

However, differences persisted, and on March 26, the K-P government walked out of a meeting of the NFC sub-group on merged districts after other provinces opposed including the region's population in the resource distribution formula, a move that could have increased province's share from 14.62% to 18.96%.