Overview
- K‑P Chief Minister Sohail Afridi filed a petition at the Islamabad High Court asking to be allowed to meet Imran Khan in Adiala Jail to obtain final approval for the province’s 2026–27 budget.
- Afridi said the consultation is needed because the province’s electoral mandate is tied to Imran Khan and he warned that restrictions on Imran’s meetings and medical care are preventing normal party and governance consultation.
- K‑P Finance Adviser Muzammil Aslam said the federal budget process is delayed and constrained by disagreements with the IMF, a lack of coalition unity, and a federal ask that provinces raise an extra Rs430 billion in revenue.
- Afridi accused the federal government of shortchanging K‑P by deducting funds and limiting development allocations, said the province has spent more than Rs30 billion on policing, and announced a PTI protest outside Parliament during the national budget session.
- The legal move and public complaints could heighten federal‑provincial tensions, influence how the national budget is finalised, and affect development and security spending that K‑P officials say has direct consequences for residents facing rising poverty and unemployment.