PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has announced it will unveil over Rs2.1 trillion “pro-development” surplus budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 today (Friday).

Official sources told Dawn that the total receipts had been pitched at Rs2.1 trillion and expenditure at around Rs1.9 trillion, leaving a surplus of over Rs150 billion.

They said that the annual development programme (ADP) would total over Rs500 billion, with Rs195 billion for the provincial component of ADP, Rs39 billion for district ADP and Rs171 billion for donor-funded projects for settled districts.

The sources said the provincial government had also increased the development portfolio by 40pc with an emphasis on health and education.

Peshawar-Dera Motorway among five to seven mega projects to be included in ADP

They added that five to seven mega projects, including Peshawar-Dera Ismail Khan Motorway, had been also included in the development programme.

Meanwhile, Governor Faisal Karim Kundi called the provincial assembly’s budget session for Friday.

“Mr Kundi has approved a summary regarding the convening of the budget session on Friday,” read a statement issued by the Governor’s House late at night.

When contacted, adviser to the chief minister on finance Muzzamil Aslam confirmed that the provincial budget would be presented in the assembly on Friday.

He complained that the federal government had taken no steps to facilitate a meeting of detained PTI founder Imran Khan with Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur and him about the upcoming budget.

“Our [party’s] senior leadership is in Islamabad, waiting for a meeting with Imran Khan,” he said.

Mr Aslam said that the PTI founder’s directions conveyed to the chief minister in their last meeting had been reflected in the budget as the party was bound to act upon those directions.

He said that the chief minister would apprise the people of that situation before the budget was unveiled.

The adviser said approval of the budget estimates to be laid before the house was subject to the nod of Mr Khan.

He said that if the federal government didn’t arrange the sought-after meeting, then the chief minister would announce the next course of action.

Mr Aslam said that it would be a “tax-free and high-impact pro-development budget.”

On the other hand, a special meeting of the provincial cabinet has been called for 11am on Friday to approve budget estimates, ADP, resource mobilisation measures and the Provincial Finance Commission’s recommendations for the next fiscal.

On Wednesday, the provincial government had assigned the additional charge of the finance minister to law and parliamentary affairs minister Aftab Alam Afridi.

A notification issued by the establishment department read that in the exercise of his powers, Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur had assigned the portfolio of finance to law minister Aftab Alam Khan.

The move was necessitated as adviser to the chief minister on finance Muzzamil Aslam can’t take part in the budget session for not being a member of the provincial assembly.

On the other hand, the Integrated Budget Strategy Paper for the financial year 2025–28, released by the finance department on June 5, had pitched the expenditure outlay at Rs1.95 trillion, reflecting an increase of 18 per cent. The amount included current expenditure of Rs1.7 trillion and development portfolio of over Rs365 billion.

The ADP has been projected to be over Rs90 billion for the merged tribal districts of the province.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur said that the federal and Punjab governments were not letting him meet PTI founder Imran Khan in jail.

“We need our party leader’s guidance regarding the budget,” he said in an official statement.

Mr Gandapur said that he had clear instructions from the detained leader that the provincial assembly shouldn’t pass the budget without his consultation and approval.

He said that he would present his course of action against the federal and Punjab authorities’ refusal to meet the PTI founder.

“We will present the budget in the assembly and initiate discussions on it to meet constitutional obligations. However, it will be passed only after we meet the party leader in jail and incorporate his instructions in it,” he said.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2025