Asad slams cut in KP merged districts’ budget

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Central Secretary General Asad Umar on Saturday criticized the ‘imported government’ for drastically slashing the budget of the merged districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), fearing that it was tantamount to endangering the country’s security.

In a statement issued by the PTI Central Media Department here, Umar said cutting the development budget of the merged districts was tantamount to endangering the security of the country and breaking the promise to the people of the districts. He pointed out that the budget of the merged districts and federal development budget, which was Rs 54 billion last year, had been reduced to Rs 40 billion for the next year by the ‘imported government’.

He lashed out at the government that the budget was supposed to be swelled to Rs 60 billion next year instead of slashing it drastically. He alleged that the incompetence of the ‘imported government’ was being exposed quite rapidly. He questioned that what type of rulers had been imposed on the nuclear power country with Rs 220 million, as national institutions were demanding the arrest of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz in a multi-billion rupee corruption case.

It is pertinent to mention here that the counsel for the Federal Investigating Agency (FIA) confirmed in a special court in Lahore on Saturday that the agency wanted to arrest Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz in a Rs 16 billion money laundering case.

Meanwhile, the PTI has accelerated preparations for the general elections and the party’s Punjab chapter has been divided into three regions in order to better focus on the ongoing public mobilization. PTI Central Secretary Information Farrukh Habib said on Saturday that the party was divided into three regions, i.e. North, South and Central on the direction of PTI Chairman Imran Khan. He said Aamir Mehmood Kayani has been appointed as president North Punjab, Yasmeen Rashid president Central Punjab and Aon Abbas Buppi president South Region. He said Hammad Azhar had been notified as general secretary Central Punjab.