Advisor to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister on Finance, Muzzammil Aslam, launched a sharp critique against the federal government on Saturday, accusing it of serious governance lapses and questioning its moral authority to assess provincial performance.
Federal Governance Under Fire
In a strongly-worded statement issued from his office in Peshawar, Aslam highlighted that the federal government itself had been given a six-month period to address its own governance shortcomings. He argued this fundamentally undermined its credibility to act as a judge for provincial administrations. "A government suffering from poor governance cannot act as an arbiter of performance," Aslam stated unequivocally.
Demands for Transparency and Accountability
The advisor posed a series of pointed questions to federal ministers, seeking clarity on key national issues. He called on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to explain the fate of the "Uraan Pakistan Program." Simultaneously, he urged Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal to provide details on the current status of development projects under his ministry's purview.
Aslam demanded specific financial and project-based accountability, asking:
- How much funding was released to the Ministry of Planning and Development in the first six months of the current fiscal year?
- How many development projects have been completed since 2022?
- What tangible outcomes have been achieved under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) since 2022?
- Where were the Rs35 trillion in loans obtained between 2022 and 2025 directed, and how many projects were finished with these funds?
Concerns Over Economic Crisis
Broadening his critique to the national economic landscape, the KP finance advisor expressed deep concern over the country's socio-economic indicators. He demanded the Prime Minister explain the reasons behind Pakistan facing its highest unemployment rate in over two decades and how nearly 45 percent of the population has fallen below the poverty line.
In light of these pressing issues, Aslam proposed a concrete step forward. "In view of these issues, a parliamentary committee should first be formed to conduct a comprehensive review of the federal government's four-year performance," he concluded, shifting the focus from provincial evaluation to a necessary federal audit.
