Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received Rs3.49 trillion under NFC, war on terror shares in five years

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received Rs3.49 trillion under the National Finance Commission (NFC) Award and the one per cent war on terror share during the last five financial years, according to details presented in the provincial assembly.

The total amount released to the province from FY2020-21 to FY2024-25 included Rs3.114 trillion under the NFC Award and Rs374.224 billion under the one per cent war on terror share.

Confusion arose in the provincial assembly on Monday after finance officials stated that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had received more than Rs34 trillion under the National Finance Commission award. However, official documents show that the actual amount released was Rs3.49 trillion, making the figure presented in the assembly nearly ten times higher than the documented amount.

The documents show that total receipts increased from Rs418.073 billion in FY2020-21 to Rs1.047 trillion in FY2024-25. KP received Rs558.480 billion in FY2021-22, Rs656.898 billion in FY2022-23 and Rs808.349 billion in FY2023-24.

Against these releases, the province’s total allocation over the five-year period stood at Rs3.648 trillion, comprising Rs3.256 trillion under the NFC share and Rs391.303 billion under the one per cent war on terror share.

The annual allocation rose from Rs453.400 billion in FY2020-21 to Rs1.166 trillion in FY2024-25. It stood at Rs532.800 billion in FY2021-22, Rs639.466 billion in FY2022-23 and Rs856.033 billion in FY2023-24.

The reply also showed total expenditure of Rs4.915 trillion during the five years. Current expenditure in settled areas stood at Rs3.717 trillion, while development spending in settled areas was Rs579.033 billion.

For the merged districts, current expenditure totalled Rs404.162 billion, while development expenditure amounted to Rs215.159 billion.

Overall expenditure rose from Rs764.028 billion in FY2020-21 to Rs1.428 trillion in FY2024-25. It stood at Rs833.172 billion in FY2021-22, Rs822.304 billion in FY2022-23 and Rs1.067 trillion in FY2023-24.

Sources in the provincial Finance Department said the provincial government has repeatedly criticized the federal government in the media for allegedly failing to provide adequate funds to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

However, they maintained that the documents submitted to the provincial assembly contain a complete record of all funds transferred by the federation to the province during the period under review.