K-P, Balochistan deficit budgets

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have unveiled massive spending plans for FY27, but beneath the headline numbers lie glaring questions of sustainability, delivery and governance that demand scrutiny.

K-P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi presented a Rs2.17 trillion budget with an estimated fiscal deficit of Rs48 billion. Afridi also made a mathematically dubious claim that the province would withhold grants for the federal government until authorities restore meetings with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan, and that his government would not seek assistance to cover the deficit. He also insisted the deficit would be covered using provincial savings rather than new borrowing, which also raises questions. The province also announced a 7% salary and pension hike for employees, while sharply increasing police spending amid a surge in militant violence. But with many of the ambitious goals of the budget as it is already unfunded, it remains to be seen whether the government can cover these expansive commitments without Islamabad's intervention.

Meanwhile, Balochistan unveiled a Rs1,089 billion budget, with a development outlay of Rs206 billion. Finance Minister Mir Shoaib Nosherwani announced 5,000 new jobs and a 7% salary and pension hike. Healthcare received Rs96 billion, with Rs7.7 billion for the Balochistan Health Card and related initiatives. The province has set a revenue target of Rs170 billion, which is ambitious given its negligible size. While there are many strong reasons for Balochistan's horribly low revenue generation, the main one remains that provincial power brokers are also the province's wealthiest people, and they continue to self-deal.

Both budgets share common threads such as a push for job creation, salary increases and development, but also a dependence on external funding and a willingness to run deficits. The K-P government's defiant posture toward Islamabad adds a layer of political uncertainty, while Balochistan's sprawling initiatives risk overreach without robust institutional capacity. For citizens in both provinces, the ultimate test will not be the size of the budget, but the quality of its execution.