KP govt to borrow Rs50bn from local banks

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government decided to borrow Rs50 billion from local banks for its finance and administrative affairs as the political tension between the federal government and the province intensifies.

There has been no improvement in relations of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in the province with the federal coalition government since the success of no-confidence motion against the former prime minister Imran Khan. The province has accused Islamabad of stopping its funds in terms of net hydel profit, gas royalty and even the allocation for the recently merged tribal districts of the province.

Provincial Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra said that the provincial government will seek approval from the KP assembly to borrow up to Rs50 billion from local commercial banks for the smooth running of financial and administrative affairs as the province cannot remain dependent on the federal government.

Jhagra said that the federal government will not be allowed to usurp Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's rights but in order to protect itself from any emergency situation, it was decided to borrow Rs50bn from local banks.