Published June 23, 2026 Updated about 3 hours ago EDITORIAL: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) budget for 2026-27 presented by Chief Minister Sohail Afridi unveiled a total outlay of 2.17 trillion-rupee - 48 billion-rupee deficit - budget with no budgeted grant for the federal government as that decision rested with the incarcerated former leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI). While this is clearly a political gambit with the purpose of compromising the commitment made by the Centre to the International Monetary Fund under its ongoing programme the allocation for development outlay, the item that other provinces scaled down to create fiscal space fort the Centre, has been reduced from 608.5 billion rupees in the revised estimates of the current year to 524.3 billion rupees budgeted for 2026-27 – a decline of 14 percent though the budget document claims that next fiscal year consists of the largest development programme in the province’s history “to accelerate economic recovery, stimulate employment creation, strengthen infrastructure, improve service delivery outcomes and reduce regional disparities.” The break-up is as follows: Annual Development Plan (ADP) of settled districts 316.8 billion rupees, ADP of devolved settled districts 235 billion rupees, ADP of provincially-merged districts 47 billion rupees and ADP of devolved managed districts 29 billion rupees. And current expenditure has been budgeted to rise from 1433 billion rupees in the revised estimates of last year to 1645.7 billion rupees next fiscal year - a rise of 14.7 percent. The Sindh budget envisaged a deficit of 36.9 billion rupees, one percent of total budgeted outlay for the year, despite accounting for 14.62 percent of NFC transfers, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s budget contributes less to the consolidated provincial surplus assumed in the federal budget than Sindh’s, reflecting its larger fiscal deficit relative to its total outlay (out of the total budget outlay of Rs 2.17 trillion, this 48 billion rupees shortfall translates to a fiscal deficit of approximately 2.2 percent of the total KPK budget size). Be that as it may, the province’s lament for the failure of the Centre to give…