PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly withheld proceeding on the passage of the provincial budget for financial year 2025-26 and linked its approval with the meeting of the Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur with the jailed PTI’s Patron-in-Chief Imran Khan.
The assembly begins proceeding with Speaker Babar Saleem Swati in the chair on Friday, but the speaker announced the adjournment of the proceeding till Monday.
The Speaker said that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has told in unequivocal terms that till their meeting with their imprisoned founding chair Imran Khan at Adiala Jail, they neither begin the process of the passage of the provincial budget nor could pass it.
Although the Speaker of the KP Assembly have had announced on Thursday that discussion on the demands for grants and cut motions of the legislator will begin on Friday, but, as voting on the on demands for grants and cut motions is part of the process of the approval of budget; therefore, in light of the decision of the chief minister and party, they could not carry the agenda forward.
The Speaker then adjourned the proceedings of the house till Monday (June 23, 2025.
Earlier, taking the floor of the house, leader of the opposition, Dr Ibadullah said by expressing no-confidence on them, the provincial government is setting up a new tradition.
Separately, a high-level delegation of opposition members from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly met with Governor Faisal Karim Kundi at the Governor House on Friday to express their concerns over the conduct of the Chief Minister and ongoing political developments in the province. The delegation is scheduled to meet the Governor again tomorrow for further consultation.
Talking to the legislators, the Governor Faisal Karim Kundi acknowledged the concerns raised by the opposition members, saying, “Their concerns are valid. It is becoming evident that the affairs of the province appear to be directed from a prison cell in Adiala Jail.”
The ongoing consultations between the Governor and opposition parties underscore the rising political tension in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the emerging debate over the legitimacy and transparency of the provincial administration.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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