DLP Report
PESHAWAR
The controversial provisions of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Members of Provincial Assembly Privileges Act have been referred back to the Provincial Assembly’s Standing Committee on Privileges for review, Information Minister Shafi Jan said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference, the minister said the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly had directed the committee to re-examine the disputed clauses and bring them in line with the provisions of the 1988 Privileges Act within one week.
Shafi Jan said concerns had been raised by journalists, the public and workers of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) over certain provisions of the law during the past several days. In response, Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi convened a provincial cabinet meeting, following which consultations were held with the Speaker of the Provincial Assembly.
He said a meeting chaired by the Speaker, attended by parliamentary leaders of all political parties and the Leader of the Opposition, unanimously decided to refer the contentious clauses back to the Standing Committee on Privileges for reconsideration.
Since the bill had originally been introduced by the committee, it would now review the disputed provisions and restore them in accordance with the 1988 law, the minister said, adding that journalists and members of the public would also be invited to submit recommendations.
Shafi Jan said that, except for the provision relating to blue passports, most clauses of the new law were identical to those contained in the 1988 Act.
He clarified that the draft approved by the provincial cabinet did not include any provision extending blue passport facilities to lawmakers’ spouses, children or as a lifetime entitlement.
He said the governor had assented to the bill on May 6, after which it was published in the official gazette on May 7, and no objections had been raised at the time.
The minister alleged that the controversy surrounding the law had been amplified to divert attention from the case involving Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar’s grandson. He said both the PTI and the provincial government had reservations over the pace of the investigation and would not allow the matter to be ignored.
Shafi Jan further said similar amendments had already been enacted in Punjab and Sindh without generating comparable public debate. He added that only 992 blue passports had been issued in KP compared to approximately 56,000 issued nationwide, and called for complete details of blue passport holders to be made public.
