Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi is presenting the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2026-27 in the KP Assembly.

The budget outlay is Rs2.17 trillion, with an estimated fiscal deficit of Rs48 billion, according to the budget documents.

At the outset of his budget speech, he said all parliamentarians of the PTI from the provincial assembly had “unanimously decided” to present the budget.

Earlier, the presentation of the budget remained doubtful as the provincial government reportedly linked it to a meeting with incarcerated PTI founder Imran Khan.

In his speech, Afridi also announced that the budget he was presenting had a deficit of Rs48bn. “The KP government will not seek a loan of Rs48bn from anyone,” he said, adding that “we will provide this amount to the people of KP from our own resources”.

Moreover, he said the budget would be in accordance with the Federal Board of Revenue’s tax collection target of Rs15.2 trillion.

“There will be no grants for the Centre in this budget,” he asserted. The KP CM went on to say that his government’s representatives had clearly stated in a meeting of the National Economic Council that a decision on providing grants to the Centre could not be made without consulting Imran.

“We said Imran Khan sahib is the final authority on this,” he said, adding that the KP government’s representatives were not being allowed to meet Imran. He said his party had demanded a meeting with Imran ahead of the provincial budget, further reiterating the PTI’s allegation that Imran and his spouse, Bushra Bibi, were being kept in solitary confinement and isolation.

Amid protest by the opposition, he continued that a demand to allow Imran’s meetings with his family had also been made. “The restoration Imran’s fundamental rights was also demanded,” he added.

He earlier presided over a meeting of the provincial cabinet, which approved the budget.

More to follow