Ex-Fata got less than half of funds pledged by Imran govt, claims opposition.

PESHAWAR -- Leader of opposition in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Akram Khan Durrani on Thursday claimed that the last federal government led by Prime Minister Imran Khan denied around 56 per cent of the Rs300 billion funds pledged for the development of tribal districts during its over three years tenure.

'[Former prime minister] Imran Khan had pledged Rs100 billion every year for bringing tribal districts on par with rest of the country, but his government released only Rs130 billion in the three years,' Mr Durrani told the house while beginning a debate on the provincial budget proposed for the financial year 2022-23.

The PTI-led provincial government had announced the Rs1.33 trillion budget in the assembly on June 13 setting aside record Rs418 billion for development projects.

Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan chaired the session.

Durrani alleges corruption in health insurance scheme, equipment purchase

The opposition rejected the provincial government's recent criticism of the federal government over 'funding cut' for the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas in the next fiscal.

He asked the PTI's central and provincial leadership to inform the people if the party's government launched any remarkable project in tribal districts during the last three years.

Mr Durrani appreciated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for announcing the establishment of a university and allocating huge funds for colleges during a recent visit to North Waziristan tribal district.

He said the province's own revenue and foreign assistance was 29 per cent of the annual budget, while the gap was filled through federal transfers and if those federal transfers were delayed or stopped, then the provincial government would collapse financially.

The opposition leader said it was not mere an announcement and instead, it had been reflected in the federal government's Public Sector Development Programme.

He asked the treasury members, especially finance minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra, about what the last PTI-led federal government did for the province.

Mr Durrani said...