PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa finance minister Taimur Saleem Khan Jhagra on Tuesday urged the federal government to immediately release net hydel profits to prevent a ‘serious financial crisis’ in the province.

Responding to a question during a provincial assembly session chaired by Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan, Mr Jhagra said the province had not received a single penny from the centre on account of NHP during the last six months.

“The province hasn’t received a single penny on account of the NHP since the change of the government in the centre,” he said flaying the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led coalition government.

“I tell you (MPAs) that the province would be in a serious financial crisis if the amount is not released and the responsibility will lie at the federal government,” he said.

Minister tells PA that province needs Rs104 billion for post-flooding rehabilitation

The minister said rehabilitation of the flood-hit areas in the province would cost Rs104 billion, so the centre should release Rs60 billion to KP on account of NHP immediately.

He said the federal and provincial governments had already worked out a mechanism for the release of NHP.

Mr Jhagra later told the house on a point of order that the country faced a financial and political crisis besides security and post-flooding challenges.

He said Pakistani rupee was fast depreciating against the US dollar even after the country made a loan deal with the International Monetary Fund.

The minister criticised the federal government for not reducing oil prices despite a decline in the global market.

He said the KP government had achieved two major successes in the last nine years.

“In 2015-16, the former chief minister made an agreement with the federation under which we [KP] started getting NHP money every year,” he said.

Mr Jhagra said the agreement had a clause for five per cent hike in NHP annually but it wasn’t being implemented by the Wapda and the federal government.

He added that the provincial government later filed a case with the Council of Common Interests and that the issue was challenged with the Nepra on the basis of minutes, but the relevant authorities refused to accept that agreement.

The minister said the Nepra also directed the federal government to pay the arrears for the current year to the province.

“If Rs60 billion is not received [by us] this year, then the responsibility of our financial crisis will be on the federal government,” he said.

Earlier, labour minister Shaukat Yousafzai presented a resolution about the ‘worst inflation in the country’s history’ in the house.

The assembly also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ministers Salaries, Allowances and Privileges (Amendment) Bill, 2022, under which the chief minister may allow a minister or public servant to use aircraft or helicopter of the government for official use at the government’s expenses.

“The Chief Minister may hire an aircraft or helicopter from open market or requisition it from Pakistan Air Force or Federal Government for official use, at the cost of government, in accordance with the rules made in this behalf by the PAF or Federal Government,” it read.

The house also passed a private member’s bill, KP Transport Employees Regularisation Services Bill, 2022, and took up the KP Regularisation of Employees of District Governance and Community Development Project Bill, 2022. The bills were moved by MPA Nighat Orakzai of the PPP and local government minister Faisal Amin Gandapur, respectively.

It admitted the adjournment motion of Nighat Orakzai to hold a debate on the recent killing of a teacher of a seminary in Badhber area of Peshawar.

Meanwhile, the opposition staged a walkout against the ‘partiality’ of the deputy speaker and his refusal to allow debate on the law and order situation in the province.

The sitting was later adjourned until 10am on Friday due to a lack of quorum pointed out by Sahibzada Sanaullah of the opposition PPP.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2022