PESHAWAR            -           Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Monday claimed that the federal government owes Rs189 billion to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. “since the regime change at the federal level, financial constraints are being created for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and federal transfers are being withheld to create financial instability in the province.” addressing a press conference along with Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Khalid Khurshid Khan and the finance ministers of azad Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in KP House Islamabad, Mahmood Khan warned to stage a sit-in in front of the National Assembly along with the opposition members from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assembly. the Chief Minister said, “the imported government, since its inception, is trying to marginalise Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and hurdles are being created on every step.” He accused the federal government of placing a considerable cut on the funds of merged tribal districts despite the fact that the merged districts need special investment to address their long-standing deprivations. “the federal government has allocated only Rs60 billion current grant for the newly-merged districts in 2022-23 against a minimum current budget requirement of Rs89.5 billion for the salary and non-salary expenditures,” he added. Similarly, he claimed, Rs55 billion have been allocated for the development projects in the merged districts, out of which only Rs5.5 billion have been released till date. the Chief Minister said, “In the federal budget for the financial year 2022-23, no funds have been allocated for the temporarily displaced persons while in the financial year 2021-22 Rs17 billion were allocated out of which only Rs5.1 billion were released.” Mahmood Khan further claimed: “the federal government has also stopped the health card funds of the merged districts, which is Rs4.5 billion annually, and now the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is bearing the costs of the health card of the merged districts from its own kitty. The share of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fixed in the National Finance Commission award is not being given, while Rs61 billion are also due with the federal government on account of Net Hydel Profit.” the Chief Minister blamed the federal government for washing out the development projects of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from the Public Sector Development Programme which were reflected in the tenure of PTI led federal government. “Rs10 billion were also promised for the rehabilitation of the flood affectees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but not even a penny has been released till date.” Mahmood Khan urged the federal government to give them their right otherwise they would stage a sit-in in front of the National assembly. He said, “I am not asking for any extra money, I am asking only for the due rights and share of the province.” the Chief Minister said that the provincial government presented a budget of Rs1.3 trillion and it includes all the projects that have direct impact on the quality of life of its citizens.