The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial parliamentary unit of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has formed a panel of legal experts to examine the constitutional validity of the upcoming state budget, a move that underscores deepening governance instability and political blackmail in Pakistan, according to a Dawn report.
The desperate measure comes as the provincial ruling faction paralyzes legislative work while awaiting federal permission to consult its jailed leader, former Prime Minister Imran Khan. The decision was finalized during a late-night parliamentary faction meeting on Friday, exposing internal chaos within the opposition party.
The move follows escalating infighting among PTI factions, who accuse the leadership of failing to secure Khan's release. Tensions spiked last week when Khan's sister, Aleema Khan, pressured KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to halt the state's financial proceedings entirely and not present the budget without directives from the jailed politician.
A similar standoff last year derailed state functioning when party leaders refused to pass the budget without Khan's input. A legislator who attended the meeting told Dawn that the party ultimately agreed that blocking the budget would devastate its own provincial administration. Some members proposed a three-month temporary budget, but the suggestion failed to gain traction.
Compounding the crisis, KP Finance Adviser Muzzammil Aslam confirmed that while the finance department initiated a summary to table the budget on June 15, the approved documentation has not yet been delivered to the assembly speaker's office. Aslam admitted the cash-strapped province is engaged in high-stakes bargaining, with the federal government promising to adjust the National Finance Commission (NFC) framework via a presidential ordinance in exchange for KP yielding fiscal space.
Aslam also revealed that the provincial government has demanded Islamabad facilitate a special meeting with Khan to secure his personal approval on state policies. He claimed Khan has routinely "supported decisions made for national interest and security and would do the same this time," but lamented that the federal government has refused clearance.
A confrontational statement issued after the crisis meeting threatened that if access to Khan continues to be denied, "the legal team would undertake a detailed review of all constitutional and legal options concerning the budgetary process and formulate a comprehensive legal course of action to safeguard the constitutional rights of KP." The statement declared that "any attempt to undermine the province's budgetary autonomy or curtail its development resources would be unacceptable."
The parliamentary party warned that any federal financial adjustments would invite severe disruption, stating that "any effort by the federal government to restrict the province's democratic mandate, financial entitlements, or development interests would invite strong political resistance" and that it would deploy all constitutional and public forums to challenge the state infrastructure.
