The governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Faisal Karim Kundi, expressed his belief that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will not form a government in the center. However, he also stated that his party would back Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), an ally, in their efforts to adopt the federal budget for the fiscal year 2024–2025.
“PPP and government are now in talks about the budget. If the negotiations are successful, we will assist [the administration] in getting the budget approved,” Kundi stated in a Tuesday interview with News.
On June 12, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb unveiled the budget for the upcoming fiscal year. However, a short while prior to his address, the PPP, who had previously sided with the PML-N, made the decision to abstain from the National Assembly meeting.
Only a few PPP legislators showed up for the session, indicating their “token attendance,” despite Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s efforts to persuade the party’s leadership to guarantee their attendance.
As the budget is given after consultation with the international lender, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has set terms that the government must accept, according to the KP governor, who also serves as PPP’s central information secretary.
The federal government, he claimed, made an effort to present a “good budget.”
Kundi also praised Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s promise to get Pakistan off additional loans and seek help from the IMF one last time.
In response to a query regarding KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Kundi stated that he had not met with the provincial leader.
