KP budget session postponed as speaker awaits Imran Khan’s nod

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati on Friday postponed proceedings related to the provincial budget for the fiscal year 2025–26, saying no budget will be passed unless Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder Imran Khan approves it.

During the provincial assembly session, Speaker Swati said that he was informed the previous night that the cut-motion process is a formal step toward budget approval. However, he said, the parliamentary party had decided that the budget will not be passed until instructions were received from Imran Khan.

Swati said that after consultations with legal experts and the law department on Thursday night, it was decided that no further proceedings would be carried out in the assembly regarding the budget until Imran Khan’s directives were received.

On the floor of the House, Opposition Leader Dr Ibad Khan criticised the move, saying, “Forty million people of the province are being put in difficulty for the sake of one individual.”

He pointed out that the provincial budget had already been approved by the cabinet and questioned whether Imran Khan had lost confidence in the chief minister and his cabinet.

He said that the KP Mines and Minerals Bill was also previously approved by the cabinet but was never passed by the assembly.

Speaker Swati later formally adjourned the session until Monday, suspending all further proceedings related to the budget.

According to sources, opposition parties have decided to contact the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor to address the crisis emerging from the delay in budget approval. The opposition leader stated that if the government refuses to pass the budget, they too have options available.

Sources further warned that if the provincial government fails to get the budget approved by the assembly, both current and development expenditures of the government will become illegal starting July 1.