The firebrand chief minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur, issuing a 15-day deadline to the federal government, warned that KP’s financial issues be resolved or face otherwise. He threatened to take over WAPDA offices and set up if load-shedding in his province was not stopped. The CM said this addressing the KP assembly today.
In his aggressive speech, the CM asked the government to pay Rs. 50 billion of KP’s due funds in the next two months. He threatened to take over WAPDA offices in the provinces if whole day-long load-shedding was stopped. He gave the federal government 15 days to sit with him to resolve KP’s issues. “We will not make requests, but would take matters into our own hands,” he said adding that Azad Kashmir has exposed the government. The government could not handle things if protests broke out in KP.
He said the federal government shared Rs. 300 billion less than what it owed the province. The government is bound to pay KP Rs. 92 billion in surplus revenue as part of IMF conditions. He said no tax could be imposed on the KP’s poor public. He warned not to take his words lightly. If the KP’s rights were not granted, the federal government would have no place to hide. He said that all constituencies will have to be opened in which the mandate of PTI was stolen. He said, “Those talk about the constitution are unconstitutional.” Importantly, the KP’s CM time and again had been threatening the federal government. Even in the past, he threatened to attack and capture Islamabad.
Earlier he attended a meeting of the prime minister and was happy over how the PM said to resolve the financial issues of KP. After this meeting, the PTI’s founding chairman Imran Khan expressed displeasure over his comments. Khan said Gandapur should have avoided a photo session with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
After that meeting, Gandapur informed the media that the premier assured him of fulfilling all genuine demands of the province given the economic crisis. He was of the opinion “We have to resolve all problems together.” However, it is perceived that the reason behind Gangapur’s aggressive speech was a payment of Rs. 300 billion to the Azad Kashmir government by the prime minister following protests in AJK.
(By Rana Kashif)
