Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said the federal government had sought additional funds from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before the provincial budget. According to him, the province’s share would have amounted to Rs175 billion if the Federal Board of Revenue achieved its Rs15.26 trillion revenue target.
Afridi said the provision of additional funds was made conditional on a meeting with PTI founder Imran Khan and his permission. He added that the provincial government had also demanded that merged districts receive their due share under the 11th National Finance Commission.
According to the chief minister, the federal government accepted the condition regarding the share of merged districts and included it in the proceedings of the relevant forum. He said a summary and ordinance under the 7th NFC had also been proposed if the province did not receive its share within six months.
Afridi said the provincial government did not sign the memorandum of understanding for the additional funds after a meeting with Imran Khan was not arranged. As a result, the additional federal grant was not included in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s provincial budget for fiscal year 2026-27.
The chief minister said the Ministry of Finance proposed on August 5 that Rs6.4 billion owed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be deducted directly. However, he said the provincial government neither approved nor agreed to the proposed deduction.
In a letter dated August 13, the provincial Finance Department formally conveyed its objection to the proposed deduction, Afridi said.
He maintained that the issue was not merely a political dispute but concerned the province’s constitutional and financial rights. According to Afridi, Article 164 of the Constitution does not allow the federal government to unilaterally deduct amounts payable to a province without a clear constitutional or legal basis and the province’s consent.
Afridi said Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam held an urgent meeting with relevant officials of the Accountant General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and issued written instructions against making any deduction without the provincial government’s consent.
The Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue was also directed not to record or implement any transaction involving the proposed deduction without explicit approval from the provincial government, he added.
The chief minister further said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had already filed a petition before the Federal Constitutional Court seeking its constitutional rights under the National Finance Commission framework.
Afridi said the provincial government would not compromise on its NFC rights and would use every available legal and constitutional avenue to protect its financial share. He also maintained that the federal government had no authority to deduct funds unilaterally on the basis of an unsigned memorandum of understanding.
The provincial government, he said, would defend every rupee of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s constitutional and financial share.
