PESHAWAR: A political deadlock over the approval of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) budget has sparked intense consultations at both the Chief Minister’s House and the Governor House, as the ruling party and opposition explore their options amid growing uncertainty.
Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has called an urgent meeting of the ruling party’s parliamentary group on Sunday evening to decide whether to move forward with the budget approval without explicit consent from PTI founder Imran Khan.
According to private media outlet report, senior PTI leaders and MNAs will attend the meeting to discuss Imran Khan’s condition that the budget must only be finalised after direct consultation with him. Currently imprisoned, Khan has reportedly demanded a meeting with key party figures—CM Gandapur, Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam, former Finance Minister Taimur Jhagra, and opposition leaders Omar Ayub and Shibli Faraz—before giving his go-ahead. The message was conveyed via his sister, Noreen Niazi, during a visit to Adiala Jail on June 17.
Meanwhile, KP Assembly opposition members, led by Dr Ibadullah Khan, met Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday to address the impasse. A follow-up meeting on Saturday included discussions with legal experts on constitutional remedies.
Sources indicate growing concern within the provincial government about the implications of missing the constitutional June 30 deadline for budget approval. On the opposition side, members warned that if the budget is not passed in time, they will approach the federal government, potentially prompting a National Assembly resolution to authorize a two-month interim budget for the province.
