Thread by @Jhagra

1. The quality of debate on financial spending in Pakistan needs significant improvement.

Out of context articles may try to create confusion, but the fact remains that @IMMahmoodKhan's Govt has a track record of delivery in the Tribal Districts.

tribune.com.pk/story/2077741/…

2. Perhaps above all is the effort to give the Tribal Districts representation in the KP assembly.

For the KP Govt to complete the political transition, and give tribal Pashtuns full representation after 72 years as Pakistani citizens is something all of Pakistan can celebrate.

3. A few examples of what is done in the Tribal Districts over this short time period.

Access for every family, and every citizen within, to Universal Health Insurance under the Sehat Insaf Scheme; the only area of Pakistan to benefit in such a way.

Just use your NIC to access!

4. Rs. 1.5 billion already in circulation for interest free loans to SMEs and microfinance, under the Insaf Rozgar Scheme and Ehsas, with another Rs. 1 billion ready to be disbursed; and more available as required.

5. The Torkham Border opened 24-7 by the PM; with the provincial govt providing financing to make sure this happens within 6 months.

This is coupled with the approval of the $400 million Peshawar - Torkham Motorway, and the kickstarting of work on a new Border terminal.

6. The KP govt has also solved a number of intractable issues, such as regularisation of levies & khassadars, & upgradation of their salaries in line with the police.

Along with this, recruitment for 17000+ posts is underway in the NMDs, which will transform service delivery.

7. A final meeting of the APEX Committee followed by the Cabinet, next week, will allow for compensation of those in Waziristan to those whose property was damaged during operations to clear out militants.

A cabinet committee did significant work to ensure this happens.

8. All of this in an environment where a merger that should have been planned and executed by the Nawaz Sharif Govt years ago, was delayed till the last minute, only because of political expediency, since the merger was opposed by JUI Chief Fazal ur Rehman.

9. To get back to the figures; the total NMD budget of Rs. 162 bln, is an almost 3-fold increase over last year.

The dev. budget is Rs. 83 billion (not Rs. 95 billion as stated), the highest ever in history. This was only possible because of the intervention of the PM himself.

10. What the article fails to mention is that annual expenditure is cyclical across Pakistan.

Q1 expenditure is slow across the country, and not just in the NMDs. And that this is true historically, and not just this year.

11. What the journalist also failed to mention is that the Rs. 12 billion released by the federal govt reached the provincial govt kitty on September 13th; and that along with this an additional Rs. 10 billion released in June was actually being spent in Q1 of this year.

12. Nonetheless, spending patterns need to improve. Govt administration, with many fine exceptions, has been bloated over 72 years to a point it is nowhere as responsive as this country needs it to be.

See my tweets earlier today on the sort of steps we are taking to fix this.

13. With cashflow finally available from mid September, spending has immediately increased; over Rs. 2.2 bln spent in the last 3 weeks. And this will only increase further. As both the PM and the CM have said, no priority is more important than the investment we make in the NMDs.