Govt reduces Gilgit Baltistan's development budget by half: GB CM

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Khalid Khurshid on Sunday said that Gilgit Baltistan is the gateway to CPEC but the incumbent govrement had reduced budget by 50pc.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad alongside PTI s Murad Saeed and Ali Amin Gandapur, CM said this year our development budget was to be increased by 45pc but the incumbent governmen has stalled the journey of development.

CM Khalid Khurshid further said that GB s allocations had reached billions of rupees for the first time when the Imran Khan-led government took charge. Previously, the PSDP s portfolio was Rs2bn which Imran raised to Rs10bn, he added.

"In last year s budget "our local ADP [annual development programme] stood at Rs18 billion and the PSDP also amounted to Rs18bn, totalling Rs36bn," he said. 

He said the PTI government made an announcement of a development package which was set at Rs18bn in the first stage and our average was to be Rs55bn annually.

Rebuking the current government, he said the budget "deliberately" curtailed the development portfolio of GB by 50 per cent.

The PTI leader and former Federal Minister Murad Saeed said Imran Khan s economic policies were praised by the world but the country s economy is under hot waters after the arrival of incumbent government.

He further said that CPEC is the guarantor of development of Pakistan while the GB is the gate of this development but cutting GB’s budget will stop the Pakistan’s development.

The former Federal Minister and PTI leader Ali Amin Gandapur said the people of Gilgit-Baltistan are not happy with the steps taken by the present government but PTI will fight for the rights of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir people.