PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi on Thursday questioned a lack of “effective accountability” over the International Monetary Fund’s recent report that highlighted financial irregularities in the federal system.

“The IMF report has pointed out large scale financial irregularities and a serious governance crisis within the federal system, raising grave questions over financial corruption amounting to approximately Rs5,300 billion,” the chief minister said in a statement from his office.

Addressing students during a job fair at the University of Engineering and Technology (UET) here, Mr Afridi said he was deeply concerned about the public resources being diverted towards purchasing of properties abroad, instead of being utilised for domestic development, industry, and public welfare while at the same time questioned why no effective accountability or scrutiny had initiated so far.

During his address, the chief minister stated that it was crucial for the youth to remain fully informed about national economic realities and urged students to develop a clear understanding of the country’s financial system, federal-provincial relations, and the equitable distribution of Constitutional rights.

Says he is concerned about ‘use of public resources to purchase properties abroad’

He informed that an important meeting of the National Finance Commission (NFC) was scheduled to be held on December 4, and stressed upon students to remain aware of the meeting’s significance in shaping the country’s economic future.

The chief minister said that it was imperative to acquaint the province’s youth with the facts.

He emphasised the need for holding awareness seminars on NFC and financial injustices, every Monday across all universities in the province.

The chief minister, while referring to the merger of the erstwhile tribal districts with KP in 2018, said that while the Constitutional and administrative merger had completed, the financial merger remained incomplete, reflecting the indifferent policy of the federal government towards development of the merged districts in particular and the KP as a whole.

He said that following the merger, KP’s rightful share in the NFC stood at 19.4 per cent, whereas it was currently receiving only 14.6 per cent, resulting in an annual financial loss of around Rs400 billion.

Mr Afridi said that the federal government still owed Rs1.3 trillion under the NFC framework and Rs2.2 trillion in net hydel profit to the province.

He questioned the basis of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf founder Imran Khan’s conviction in the Al-Qadir Trust case.

He said that the institution imparted education on the Seeratun Nabi (Peace Be Upon Him), while those linked to financial scandals involving Rs5.3 trillion, faced no meaningful accountability.

The chief minister highlighted the provincial government’s initiatives for students and youth and said that earlier graduates were forced to search for employers on their own, but today nearly 2,000 students had been successfully registered with various companies.

He announced that the provincial government was working rapidly on a comprehensive internship policy for graduates to provide structured employment, skills development, and professional training opportunities.

Mr Afridi assured students that those who were unable to complete their education due to any reason would not be neglected, and special programmes were being developed to support them.

He expressed satisfaction with the strong presence of female students in engineering disciplines, saying the province’s daughters are second to none and are excelling in every field.

Meanwhile, the chief minister chaired a meeting of Peshawar district’s current and former parliamentarians, along with senior political leadership of the city.

The meeting focused on restoring Peshawar’s historic stature, accelerating its development trajectory, and addressing the major challenges facing the provincial capital, according to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Secretariat.

Mr Afridi said that the government was preparing a comprehensive development strategy worth Rs100 billion for Peshawar and that a grand consultative meeting would soon be convened to finalise and fast-track these initiatives.

He said that the administration was fully committed to reviving the provincial capital’s past glory and would accelerate development initiatives across the city.

“Priority measures will be undertaken to advance mega projects, enhance urban services, and strengthen the city’s infrastructure,” he said.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2025