PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has resolved to formally relay its reservations to the federal government through an official correspondence concerning taxation policies in the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Malakand Division, along with unresolved electricity supply and distribution issues.
The decision emerged from a meeting held between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Sohail Afridi and a delegation of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) parliamentarians and senior leaders at the Chief Minister’s House, as per a statement released by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.
The meeting deliberated on the federal government’s recent taxation measures in merged districts and former Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA), as well as persistent challenges such as unscheduled electricity loadshedding, low voltage, and other related grievances impacting the province.
Participants underscored their serious concerns over the federal government’s actions and resolved to pursue these matters rigorously through constitutional and institutional forums.
CM insists federal govt trying to ‘further marginalise’ merged districts
The Chief Minister directed the convening of a unified session involving Pesco, Tesco, and Hesco (power supply companies) to tackle ongoing issues of irregular loadshedding and low voltage. He criticized the federal government for attempting to further marginalize merged tribal districts.
“Following the withholding of the merged districts’ entitled share under the National Finance Commission Award, the Accelerated Implementation Programme, and current budgetary allocations, the federal government has now proceeded with imposing additional taxes,” he stated.
Mr. Afridi emphasized that a clear commitment had been made to refrain from taxation in merged districts until they achieved development parity with other regions of the country. He described the recent taxation measures as a violation of that pledge.
The delegation deemed the taxation policies in merged districts unjust and unacceptable to local populations. They also highlighted the irony of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, being the country’s largest electricity producer, enduring prolonged power outages.
The participants stressed that persistent unscheduled loadshedding, coupled with low voltage during peak summer, had exacerbated public hardships. The Chief Minister reiterated the provincial government’s commitment to safeguarding the constitutional, economic, and developmental rights of the province, particularly the merged districts.
The PTI delegation comprised parliamentarians Asad Qaiser, Junaid Akbar, Atif Khan, Shehram Khan Tarakai, Shandana Gulzar, Saleemur Rehman, Sahibzada Sibghatullah, Mehboobur Rehman, Anwar Taj, Dr. Amjad, and Sajid Mohmand, alongside senior leaders Shaukat Yousafzai and Arbab Jehandad.
The meeting occurred shortly after a joint press conference by PTI leadership in the provincial capital, where they accused the federal government of breaching the province’s constitutional rights and delaying its share in national resources.
Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser and PTI provincial president Junaid Akbar alleged that the federal government had withheld over Rs430 billion in KP’s share under net hydel profit, National Finance Commission, and gas royalties. They further claimed that the Center failed to honor its pledges for merged district development and allocated only 3.8% of the federal Public Sector Development Programme to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
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