'No meeting with PTI founder': KP CM rejects Rs6.4bn federal deduction

WEB DESK -- The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has refused to accept a proposed deduction of Rs6.4 billion from its federal financial transfers, terming the move an infringement of the province’s constitutional and financial rights.

Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the federal government had sought additional funds from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before the provincial budget. Based on the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) target of Rs15.26 trillion, the province’s share was calculated at Rs175 billion.

He said the provincial government had linked any agreement to provide additional funds to a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan and his approval. It had also demanded that the merged districts be given their due share under the 11th National Finance Commission (NFC).

According to Afridi, the federal government accepted the condition concerning the merged districts and incorporated it into the proceedings of the National Economic Council (NEC). However, after the province failed to receive the promised share within six months, a decision was taken to move a summary and promulgate an ordinance under the seventh NFC.

Afridi said the provincial government did not sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the additional funds because it was not allowed to meet Imran Khan. Consequently, the additional federal grant was not included in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget for fiscal year 2026-27.

The chief minister said the Ministry of Finance proposed on August 5 that Rs6.4 billion owed to the province be deducted directly. The provincial government neither approved nor agreed to the proposed deduction and formally conveyed its opposition through a letter issued by the Finance Department on August 13.

“This is not merely a political disagreement but a matter of the province’s constitutional and financial rights,” Afridi said, arguing that Article 164 of the Constitution did not authorise the federal government to make unilateral deductions from funds payable to a province.

He maintained that any deduction required a clear constitutional or legal basis as well as the provincial government’s consent.

Afridi said Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam immediately met the relevant officials of the Accountant General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and issued written instructions against making any deduction without the province’s consent.

The Accountant General Pakistan Revenues was also instructed not to record or implement any transaction involving the proposed deduction without the provincial government’s explicit approval, he added.

The chief minister said the provincial government had already filed a petition before the Federal Constitutional Court seeking enforcement of its constitutional rights under the NFC framework.

“Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will not compromise on its rights under the National Finance Commission,” Afridi said, adding that the federal government had no authority to unilaterally deduct funds on the basis of an MoU that had not been approved by the provincial government.

He vowed that the provincial government would pursue every available legal and constitutional avenue to protect its financial rights and defend every rupee of its rightful share.