The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is presenting its budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 before the federal budget for the first time in the country’s history. KP Minister Aftab Alam is presenting the budget speech.

The KP government announced its decision to present the fiscal year 2024-25 budget in the provincial assembly on Friday, drawing the ire of the federal government.**

But the KP Assembly session could not start on time as the august house was empty. It was scheduled to take place at 3pm. Assembly officials were ringing bells for the lawmakers.

According to the budget documents, a total budget of Rs1,754 billion has been proposed for the new fiscal year. The budget is likely to see revisions in existing taxes rather than the introduction of new taxes, sources said.

Prior to the budget presentation, a special cabinet budget meeting was held under the chairmanship of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur. Ministers, special assistants, advisers, the chief secretary, secretaries of relevant departments, and other officials attended the meeting.

The cabinet has approved the budget for the year 2024-25, as well as the Annual Development Program and the Finance Bill.

On May 21, the KP Assembly approved the current financial year’s Rs306.52 billion supplementary budget, including Rs292.9 billion current and Rs13.5 billion development expenditure.

‘Apna budget’

In a statement, Adviser to the KP CM Muzzammil Aslam said Gandapur supervised the entire budget-making exercise.

“Discussed more than 1,900 projects, including 288 new projects,” he said in a post on social media platform X.

Aslam claimed that he presided over 100 meetings. “Credit goes to entire Provincial Machinery for producing the ‘APNA Budget 2024-25’.”