CM lauds both treasury, opposition benches as all 64 demands for grants get approved

peshawar   -   Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday passed the annual budget for 2022-23 and approved all 64 demands for grants worth Rs1332 billion.

The House also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Bill, 2022.

A total of 59 demands for grants were approved in Friday’s sitting of the assembly, while give demands from various departments had already been approved in recent days. Earlier, the treasury and opposition members held talks, prompting the opposition to withdraw their cut motions, although a few members still forwarded their suggestions while withdrawing their cut motions.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Mahmood Khan lauded both the treasury and opposition members for the passage of the budget.

While criticising incumbent federal government, he said the “imported government” failed to manage the affairs of the country. On this, Ikhtiar Wali Khan, a lawmaker of the PML-N, retaliated and shouted on the CM, leading to exchange of broadside between the CM and Ikhtiar Wali.  Later, Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan ordered Sergeant at Arm to take Ikhtiar Wali out of the assembly and his entry into the assembly was also banned for two days, ie Monday and Tuesday.

The Chief Minister also declared an increase in the minimum salary from Rs21,000 to Rs26,000. He said 63,000 temporary employees were regularised. He added that four hospitals were being set up in four regions of the province to reduce burden on the main hospitals of the provincial capital Peshawar.

He, however, criticised the centre for stopping the province’s funding for Sehat Card in merged districts, which he said would continue despite fund stoppage. The Chief Minister said that land for a new city in Peshawar was being acquired, adding that Dir Expressway, Swat Motorway, and D I Khan Motorway would also be built.

Earlier, Sardar Hussain Babak of the Awami National Party (ANP) questioned the performance of the law enforcement agencies as he said law and order situation was again turning bad. He also criticised the authorities over the rapid spread of ice drug in the society and said it is destroying the youth.