{"id":12617,"date":"2025-07-04T21:05:40","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T21:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=12617"},"modified":"2025-07-04T21:05:40","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T21:05:40","slug":"gandapur-dismisses-rift-defends-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=12617","title":{"rendered":"Gandapur dismisses rift, defends budget"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, has dismissed any speculation regarding the stability of his government, stating that all members are united and no one is defecting. &#8220;If anyone is eager to bring a no-confidence motion, they are welcome to try \u2014 it will only expose the truth,&#8221; he remarked.<\/p>\n<p>He added that had the budget not been passed, the government would have collapsed, and the blame would lie solely with PTI, while opponents would be celebrating.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking informally to senior journalists at the Chief Minister&#8217;s House in Peshawar on Friday, Gandapur reiterated his call to the federal government to open trade routes with Afghanistan \u2014 from Chitral to Angoor Adda in Waziristan. &#8220;This move will not only boost trade but also ensure regional peace,&#8221; he said. He also urged that individuals with legal status and those wishing to acquire Pakistani citizenship should be granted it, to promote foreign investment in the province.<\/p>\n<p>Gandapur addressed internal party tensions surrounding the budget, stating, &#8220;There was propaganda from within that the budget shouldn&#8217;t be presented, and once it was, noise was made about not passing it. However, when Barrister Saif briefed our party&#8217;s Patron-in-Chief, he expressed satisfaction with the budget&#8217;s approval.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>He revealed that only two members abstained from voting for the budget, adding, &#8220;Everyone knows who they&#8217;re aligned with.&#8221; He hinted that more clarity on internal matters will emerge once the newly elected members of the provincial assembly are sworn in, and said the party&#8217;s strategy will be shaped accordingly.<\/p>\n<p>The chief minister also explained that due to recent legal interpretations, none of the current assembly members are officially affiliated with PTI, as the Supreme Court&#8217;s previous decision has been nullified following the July 21 Senate ruling. &#8220;Everyone is now considered independent, except me,&#8221; he emphasized. &#8220;I&#8217;m still a PTI member, as I listed PTI as my party affiliation in my nomination papers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Responding to criticism over alleged extravagant spending, Gandapur clarified: &#8220;I didn&#8217;t spend Rs115 million on biscuits. That amount was used to provide meals for 400 Class-IV staff members at the CM House and Secretariat.&#8221; He defended his fiscal record, noting, &#8220;While I do spend, I&#8217;ve also saved Rs250 billion. It&#8217;s the responsibility of political leaders to keep bureaucracy in check \u2014 and we will do that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>While acknowledging that corruption hasn&#8217;t been entirely eradicated, Gandapur claimed significant control has been achieved. &#8220;I&#8217;m accountable not for 12 years but for the 15 months of my current tenure,&#8221; he added. He concluded by announcing plans to revive closed industries in the province by ensuring the provision of low-cost electricity.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Ali Amin Gandapur, has dismissed any speculation regarding the stability of his government, stating that all members are united and no one is defecting. &#8220;If anyone is eager to bring a no-confidence motion, they are welcome to try \u2014 it will only expose the truth,&#8221; he remarked. He added that had the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12617\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}