By: Zulfiqar Ali (Kashmir Investigation Team)
MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) cabinet approved a budget worth Rs 310 billion for the fiscal year 2025-26 in just ten minutes on Tuesday, while the details of the budget were not presented during the meeting.
Sources present in the cabinet meeting told the Kashmir Investigation Team that on the instructions of the Prime Minister, the Finance Secretary neither read the details of the development budget nor presented the features of the non-development budget.
According to sources, only the total amounts given at the end of the budget document were mentioned in the meeting, such as how much money has been set aside for the development budget in total, from what sources it will come, and what will be the total volume of the non-development budget.
According to cabinet sources, no minister asked for details of the budget, nor did any questions arise, and no scheme was discussed.
The summary of the Finance Bill 2025-26 was also read out as a formality, and no minister spoke on it either. Thus, the cabinet approved the budget of Rs 310 billion as a mere formality.
According to sources, the entire process was so cursory that it seemed as if the budget was being approved only for the sake of filling the house, and not under any serious consultation or financial strategy.
This behavior has once again put a question mark on the budgeting of Azad Kashmir; Has the cabinet become a mere body for giving the stamp of approval? And should such huge decisions of public resources be made without any scrutiny?
