PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday unanimously passed the Provincial Motor Vehicle Ordinance (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Amendment Bill, 2026, waiving off registration, transfer, number plate and smart card fees for motorbike and rickshaw for one month.

The private member’s bill, moved by treasury MPA Daud Shah during an assembly sitting chaired by Mohammad Idrees Khan, also read that Rs2,300 under the private registration mark fee for motorbikes wouldn’t be collected.

Member of the opposition PPP Ahmad Karim Kundi said that the opposition supported the bill as it would give relief to people. He, however, urged the government not to extend the relaxation period.

Minister for law Aftab Alam Afridi said that the rules were relaxed for the marginalised segment to give them subsidy and that if the situation improved, its duration would not be extended.

Minister tells PA that no extension in waiver period if situation improves

During the sitting, the house approved sending opposition Awami National Party lawmaker Mohammad Nisar Baaz’s privilege motion to the relevant house committee when he requested the chair to summon the interior secretary and KP chief secretary over his offloading from the plane as he was set to go to Saudi Arabia to perform Umrah.

Mr Baaz said that he was stopped from travelling despite having all relevant documents and that he was informed that his name was on the Exit Control List, so he should check the issue with provincial administration.

“Why was my name put on the list? Neither me nor the assembly secretariat was informed about it. Action should be taken under the Privilege Act and the federal government contacted to remove my name from the list,” he said.

Minister for housing Dr Amjad Ali said that he supported Mr Baaz’s motion and that he himself went through the same issue as his name was still on the list despite the court’s orders. He asked the chair to summon the relevant officials and give a ruling on the issue.

The chair later referred the motion to the relevant house committee with the directions that any other person, who had faced the same issue, should also be called to attend the house committee meeting.

While talking about the current inflation and price hike besides an increase in petroleum products’ prices, Dr Ali said that despite facing the war, Iran had not increased the prices.

He said that when the prices went up by Rs10 in 2022, the then opposition leaders, including JUI-F’s Maulana Fazlur Rehman, PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and PML-N leader Shehbaz Sharif, launched protest demonstrations.

“Prices of petroleum products went up twice in one month but those people are silent. Media, too, is silent,” he said.

The minister complained that the government increased petrol prices byRs200per litre in a month.

He also said that 3.5 million people had left the country in the last three years, the second largest migration after the independence of the country, with most of them being skilled and highly educated people.

During the question hour, opposition PML-N lawmaker Shazia Jadoon said although the department had replied to her question, there were several areas where protection walls on river banks were yet to be built. She also said that the details provided by the department concerned did not mention the timeline.

The MPA insisted that her question should be sent to the relevant house committee for discussion and recommendations.

However, minister for elementary and secondary education Arshad Ayub said some villages, identified by the PML-N lawmaker, fell within the jurisdiction of his constituency and that if the lawmaker wanted further details, the district administration would provide more details.

PPP lawmaker Ahmad Karim Kundi said the opposition should not be asked to meet executives and that the house committee should be empowered and productive since house committees were the right forums for lawmakers to discuss such issues.

He said the opposition was not asking for funds but wanted improvement in the quality of work and that drains were cleaned but the quality of work wasn’t up to the mark in Dera Ismail Khan, so flood water recently entered the city.

JUI-F member Rehana Ismail complained that the Bank of Khyber’s mobile app was mostly down, while its ATMs were out of order, especially on weekends.

Mr Ali endorsed the lawmaker’s complaint and said that he had got his account transferred from the Bank of Khyber to another bank.

The call attention notice was later referred to the relevant house committee.

Minister for law Aftab Alam Afridi tabled the KP Promotion of Digital Payment Bill, 2026, which was referred by the chair to the relevant committee, with the direction to return it within 15 days.

The minister also tabled the KP Establishment of Special Courts Overseas Pakistanis Property Bill, 2026, and the KP Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Amendment Bill, 2026, in the house. The chair referred the bills to the relevant house committee for consideration and recommendations.

The sitting was later adjourned until April 13 afternoon due to a lack of quorum.

Published in Dawn, April 7th, 2026