KP govt secured $275m in loans for merged districts, document reveals
Pakistan
The documents show that an additional loan amounting to 39,028 million Japanese Yen was acquired under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project.
PESHAWAR (Zeeshan Kakakhel) - Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has obtained hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign loans over the past five years for development projects in the merged tribal districts, documents obtained by Dunya News have revealed.
According to the official record, the provincial government secured a total of 275 million dollars between 2020 and 2025 for just two major initiatives. These include 75 million dollars for the KP Economic Corridor, and 200 million dollars for the KP Rural Investment and Institutional Project.
The documents further show that an additional loan amounting to 39,028 million Japanese Yen was acquired under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rural Accessibility Project. The loan was allocated for the improvement of road connectivity in the merged tribal areas, and its value runs into billions of rupees once converted.
Finance department sources confirmed that these are not the only borrowings. Several other development schemes in the merged districts were also funded through heavy foreign loans, increasing the province’s overall financial burden.
Officials say while the projects aim to boost infrastructure and development in previously neglected regions, the rising debt has raised concerns about repayment obligations and long-term fiscal pressure on the provincial budget.
The revelations have sparked debate among political and economic observers, who argue that sustainable development is essential, but must be balanced against the province’s growing debt liabilities. Further details on project execution and financial transparency are expected to surface in the coming days.
