PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi has said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s natural resources including hydel power, oil, gas and LPG are playing an important role in the energy needs of the entire Pakistan, however, despite producing its own resources, it is no longer acceptable for the people of the province not to get their due rights.
He expressed these views while presiding over a meeting of the Energy and Power Department. In the meeting, the Chief Minister was given a detailed briefing on the ongoing development projects of the Energy and Power Department, energy production, provincial transmission and grid system, natural resources and other important issues including liabilities to the federation.
The meeting was informed in the briefing that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is supplying more than 70 percent of the country’s total hydel power production to the national grid, however, due to the lack of a provincial transmission line after the 18th Constitutional Amendment, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is forced to sell the electricity it generates to the federation.
The Chief Minister said that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is contributing so much to the country’s energy needs, but on the other hand, the NHP arrears due to the federation under the AGN Kazi formula have exceeded Rs 2300 billion.
The meeting was briefed that under the previous interim arrangement, the federation also had arrears of more than Rs 78 billion under the regular NHP. The briefing was told that despite generating more than 70 percent of the country’s hydel electricity, Punjab was receiving more money than Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the NHP. During the last three years, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received Rs 87.7 billion under the NHP while Punjab received Rs 160.8 billion.
The Chief Minister said that the financial situation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was being affected by the delay in payment of NHP and disproportionate payments. The meeting was informed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has approached the Council of Common Interests for the 5 percent annual indexation of NHP, arrears, late payment surcharge and direct payment mechanism.
The meeting was briefed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is establishing a provincial transmission and grid system to meet its reliable power supply and industrial needs. The province is also strengthening its transmission, regulatory and distribution system at the provincial level.
The Chief Minister directed to present the provincial transmission line project at the investors’ conference. He said that the provincial transmission line project is highly profitable and many countries want to invest in it.
The meeting was informed that the total portfolio of PEDO’s energy projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is about 7890 MW, while PEDO’s 224 MW operational projects generated Rs 8.829 billion in the fiscal year 2025-26.
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said that despite the natural resources and energy production of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the people of the province are not getting the legitimate benefits of their resources, which is a violation of constitutional rights.
The meeting was briefed that under Article 158 of the Constitution, the province has priority in the use of natural gas produced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is providing 48 percent of the country’s total crude oil production. The meeting recommended that the federal excise duty imposed at the well site in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa be paid to the province under Article 161 of the Constitution.
The meeting also recommended taking up with the federal government the issue of violation of Petroleum Policy 2012 in the sale of gas from Razgir field to a third party. The meeting was briefed that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is producing 850 tons of LPG daily, while the province’s daily consumption is 600 tons. The province is providing 38 percent of the country’s total LPG production.
The meeting recommended that 10 percent of the production be allocated to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa under the LPG Policy 2016. This allocation of 75 tons of LPG per day can meet the annual needs of about 245,000 households. By allocating 10 percent of LPG to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, about 2,440 hectares of deforestation can be prevented annually.
The Chief Minister directed that all relevant matters should be taken up with the federal government in a strong and formal manner to protect the constitutional and financial rights of the province and all possible constitutional and legal avenues should be taken to resolve them.
He clarified that in case the desired relief is not received from the federal government, the matters should be taken to the courts to secure the rights of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.