Web Desk (LTN NEWS): Asad Umar, the leader of the PTI, lashed out at the coalition government on Saturday for “trying to suppress Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Jhagra’s voice” after the latter hinted at backing out of an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the revival of the $6 billion loan program in a letter to the Centre.
Before the IMF’s Executive Board meeting on Monday, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail chastised Taimur Khan Jhagra for endangering the program.
Speaking during a press conference, Miftah criticized the PTI leaders for endangering the nation at a time when it was already hurting from the destruction brought on by flash floods and nonstop rain that have affected more than 30 million people.
It is important to note that the KP administration declined to implement the IMF loan requirement for the surplus budget, citing the federal government’s failure to pay arrears of approximately Rs100 billion.
In a letter to Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, KP Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra made a suggestion that he would also send a copy to the IMF.
Asad Umar responded angrily to Miftah’s assertion, saying, “Taimur Jhagra is seeking the right of the province.” He cautioned against stifling the provincial finance minister’s voice.
The PTI leader criticized the finance minister, saying that even PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif is “testifying your incompetency.”
Despite waiting for two months, Jhagra said that he wrote the federal government and offered his help.
He continued, “The coalition government is attempting to place the blame for its failure on Taimur Jhagra.
The PTI leader chided the administration, “If you think that you would control the country with a stick, then this is your fiction.”
“Due to your incompetency, you have made people’s life more unpleasant,” he informed Miftah. He blamed the finance minister for everything that was occurring in the nation.
Moving on to the floods, the PTI leader stated that Imran Khan has instructed his party to offer the flood victims every possible assistance.
Taimur writes Miftah a letter
The province government’s calculation, according to Taimur’s letter, indicated that the aggregate effect of ignoring these problems would be to add Rs100 billion in unfunded liabilities to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa budget.
It went on to say that the monsoon flooding had made the situation in the region even worse and had destroyed Swat, DI Khan, and Tank. According to the report, “the cost of rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and building again will probably run into the tens of billions.”
Without the resolution, the provincial finance minister claimed that these circumstances make it “impossible” to leave a surplus.
The KP finance minister brought forward four issues:
1. To address the budget allocations for ex-FATA, which are left up to the federal government’s discretion in the absence of a revised NFC award.
- To address the issue of the current budget allocations for ex-FATA, which are not even enough to pay the expenditures of existing employees’ monthly salaries.
- To pay for the transfer of the Sehat Card Program for ex-FATA residents, in which the federal government has chosen to unilaterally deny health insurance to the 6 million ex-FATA inhabitants.
- To provide sufficient budgeting to meet TDPs’ needs
2. To agree to monthly NHP transfers based on the MoU signed between the federal government and the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2016. By the way, the PML-N previously signed this MoU.
3. The National Finance Commission (NFC) should be reinstated right away by the federal government so that these problems can be fixed more long-term.
4. The federal government should also promise to get in touch with the government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa right away to discuss and settle any additional financial matters. These include, but are not limited to, paying off the Pakhtunkhwa Pakhtunkhwa Energy Development Organization’s (PEDO) outstanding debts, resolving the energy wheeling and WACOG disputes, ensuring that natural gas is available to the province in accordance with Article 158, funding PESCO to build the province’s transmission and distribution network, and the federal government’s promise to not postpone the implementation of provincially funded projects.
