PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ministers (Salaries, Allowance and Privileges) (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022, amid resistance by the opposition benches.

The opposition members claimed that the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s move was meant to provide ‘blanket immunity’ to those, who used the provincial government’s helicopters unlawfully.

They announced that they would challenge the bill in the court of law.

Tabled by labour and culture minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai, the bill was passed by the house after rejecting the amendments proposed by opposition members.

“This [amended bill] will have serious consequences as anyone with a majority in the provincial assembly will protect the ‘crimes’ committed in the past,” Inayatullah of the opposition Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal said after his proposed amendments were defeated in the house.

Opposition says it’ll challenge PTI’s move in court

While resisting all proposed changes to the law, members of opposition parties declared Section 7B(7) of the amended bill blanket immunity for the illegal users of government helicopters.

Section 7B(7) of the amended bill reads, “All official journeys, any excursions, so carried out and undertaken on my aircraft or helicopter of government by the chief minister, any minister, advisor or special assistant to chief minister, public servant or government servant, or any of his support staff, aides, any other individual, on and from 1st November, 2008 till the commencement of the KP Ministers (Salaries, Allowance and Privileges) Act, 2022, shall deem to be validly carried out and undertaken under this Act and shall not be called in question for want of any deficiency of procedure or approval, as the case may be.”

Mr Inayatullah said it was blanket immunity for those, who unlawfully used the provincial government’s helicopters in the past.

“If the amendment bill is not referred to the relevant house committee and is passed, we [opposition] will challenge it in the court of law,” he announced.

The opposition lawmakers also insisted that the treasury’s move to get the amendment bill passed by vote was the “misuse of its majority” in the house.

“The helicopter was used unlawfully but now that act is being protected by the misuse of majority in the house,” Awami National Party parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak said.

He added that the chair should refer the bill to the relevant standing committee or form a special committee about it as the proposed “amendment can’t justified.”

Member of the opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sardar Yousaf said the residents of KP would never forgive the government for those amendments to the law.

He urged the government to withdraw the bill or send it to the relevant committee for discussion and recommendations, and satisfy the house and people about it.

However, Mr Yousafzai said rules were not clear about it and that had the government been doing it for itself, it would have clearly mentioned ‘from 2013 to commencement of the bill’.

He also questioned the opposition’s ‘silence’ on amendments to the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) law and said why the opposition members kept silent and didn’t care about the people when the NAB laws were being amended.

The provincial assembly also passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Regularisation of Services of Project Employees of the Directorate General Livestock and Dairy Development (Extension) of Erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas Bill, 2022.

Pakistan Peoples Party member Nighat Yasmin Orakzai proposed amendments but withdrew them afterwards.

Similarly, Khushdil Khan of the ANP also withdrew the changes proposed by him to the law.

The opposition said they would go to any extent to protect the province’s rights.

PML-N’s Sardar Aurangzeb, PPP’s Nighat Yasmin Orakzai and ANP’s Sardar Hussain Babak said the opposition parties would support the treasury benches in their struggle to claim the rights of the province.

Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2022