Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah criticised the federal government for failing to meet its financial commitments to the province, while promising enhanced development and relief measures in the 2025-26 budget.
Speaking at a post-budget press conference on Saturday, Shah said the provincial budget totalled Rs3.45 trillion, with a record Rs1.018 trillion allocated for development projects.
He warned that these figures could change depending on whether the federal government meets its revenue transfer obligations.
He announced that 1,460 development schemes, worth Rs590 billion, will be completed this fiscal year. This marks a record for the province.
Shah openly criticised the federal government for excluding major Sindh projects – such as the K-IV water supply project, desalination plants, and other energy-related infrastructure – from the federal Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). He warned that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) would not support the federal budget if Sindh does not receive a fair share.
“We are not part of the federal coalition, only offering conditional support. If Sindh is not treated equally, we will withdraw our backing,” he said.
Shah defended the procurement of helicopters and official vehicles, adding that a ban on new vehicle purchases would be enforced starting next year.
Concluding his address, the CM said the Sindh government is working with clear direction and intent for public welfare – as reflected in the increased public mandate in the last election.
Separately, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (K-P) Finance Advisor, Muzammil Aslam, said on Saturday that the federal government is ignoring the province due to political opposition.
Addressing a post-budget press conference, Aslam stated that the federal government’s economic position is no longer stable, with the growth rate dropping to 2.7%.
He claimed K-P was largely ignored in the federal development budget, receiving only Rs550 million, forcing the province to increase its own development spending due to lack of federal support.
Aslam said the province achieved 93% of its revenue targets through its own sources.
However, K-P received Rs90 billion less than its share under the National Finance Commission (NFC). He added that the provincial government spent Rs20 billion from its own treasury for tribal areas and used Rs70 billion for the merged districts without any federal support.
He clarified that the province had not taken any new loans. The loans currently being received were from agreements signed previously. Any future loans, he said, would only be taken for major development projects.
Comparing the budgets, Aslam noted the Centre’s budget stands at Rs1 trillion, while K-P’s is Rs547 billion. He said an NFC meeting had been scheduled for August on K-P’s request.
The K-P chief minister, he said, raised the issue of pending dues with the Centre, which had promised payments. Despite this, he said, annual funds exceeding Rs47 billion were never released by the federal government for tribal areas.
Aslam acknowledged that for the first time, the Centre had allocated Rs70.4 billion for the merged tribal districts. He clarified that Rs170 billion in loans were inherited from previous governments.
A Rs1.5 billion fund had been set up to manage debt repayments. He said the province is satisfied with its NFC share and sees it as the key to resolving its fiscal challenges.
Salaries and pensions, he said, have been increased by 10% and 7% respectively, in line with federal adjustments.
For the new fiscal year, the K-P government has included development schemes worth Rs500 billion in its Rs195 billion development budget.
This year, Rs145 billion out of the allocated Rs156 billion for settled districts had already been released. For merged tribal areas, Rs41 billion was allocated, with Rs26.9 billion disbursed.