PESHAWAR(National Times)- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Friday withdrew controversial provisions from the recently enacted KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026, including the issuance of official passports to lawmakers and their spouses for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The provincial assembly had earlier in April passed the KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Imm\u00adunities and Privileges) Act, 2026, granting blue passports to members and their spouses, arms licences, blanket immunity from preventive detention, and making the speaker\u2019s permission mandatory before arresting members on criminal charges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the law faced harsh criticism from the media and the general public, prompting KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi to order a review of the legislation last week. KP Information Minister Shafi Jan also announced that the government would withdraw the controversial clauses and restore the law in accordance with the 1988 Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the amendment tabled by treasury lawmaker Ghazi Ikram during a sitting chaired by KP Assembly Speaker Baber Saleem Swati, the house passed the KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Amendment Act, 2026. The controversial provisions were withdrawn, and official passports will now remain valid only for the parliamentary tenure of lawmakers, in accordance with federal law. Also, the number of lifetime non-prohibited bore arms licences was also reduced from eight to four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concerns raised by the journalist community over enhanced fines and punishments were also addressed, with both fines and punishments being reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Territorial integrity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The house also unanimously passed a resolution over the possible alteration of the territorial jurisdiction of KP by annexing some parts of the province to the federal territory. The resolution, moved by treasury lawmaker Akbar Ayub, stated that Haripur, Abbottabad and all other districts were integral parts of KP and could not be annexed to any other part of the country. It added that any changes \u2014 whether administrative, political, financial or aimed at controlling natural resources \u2014 would be against the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It stated that the residents of the province had constitutional rights over KP\u2019s minerals, forests, hydel projects and other natural resources, and that any direct or indirect attempt to take control of these resources was unacceptable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The resolution stated that any changes to the province\u2019s geographical boundaries for personal interests or political objectives would violate the Constitution and could harm the federation. It strongly condemned any such plan and demanded that the federal government reject such suggestions and respect KP\u2019s geographical, constitutional and administrative status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The resolution added that the provincial assembly, the elected government and the people of KP would take all democratic and peaceful steps to safeguard the province\u2019s geographical sovereignty, constitutional rights, provincial autonomy and natural resources, and would never hesitate to make any sacrifice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The house appealed to all political parties, the legal fraternity, public representatives, civil society, youth and the media to make a joint effort to protect the province\u2019s geographical boundaries and the constitutional rights of its residents. \u201cThis house warns the federal government to refrain from making any geographical changes, as such a step will never be acceptable to the people of KP and could harm inter-provincial harmony and national unity,\u201d the resolution read, demanding that the federal government publicly reject any such proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Source of revenue<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the sitting, MPA Fazal Ilahi said that annexing parts of KP was a conspiracy and was unacceptable, adding that the province generated significant revenue from those areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Earlier, treasury MPA Sultan-e-Rom informed the house that militancy had returned to Swat district after several years of relative peace. He questioned how long the people would continue to tolerate bombings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said militants began reappearing in 2022, but massive public protests against their presence helped restore relative normalcy. However, he added that explosions continued to occur across KP and recalled the bloodshed in Swat. \u201cWe would rather accept death than face displacement again,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Prescriptions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her call-attention notice, opposition lawmaker Meher Sultana of the PPP informed the house that there was no law requiring doctors to prescribe medicines by their generic names rather than by brand names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said handwritten prescriptions were often illegible, placing an unnecessary financial burden on patients. She urged the health department to enact legislation requiring doctors to prescribe medicines by their generic names instead of brand names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Health Minister Khal\u00adeequr Rehman informed the house that the matter fell under the jurisdiction of the federal government because the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) registered medicines under brand names.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said there was currently no policy requiring prescriptions by generic name but acknowledged that the issue was open to debate. However, he also argued that prescribing generic names could give medical store owners greater discretion to dispense medicines of their own choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Opposition lawmaker Shahida Waheed of the ANP informed the house that Mardan Medical Complex catered to patients from Mardan and several other districts, but its CT scan and MRI machines had remained out of order, causing immense hardship for patients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr Zaman said the issue had been highlighted on social media and that notice had been taken. He said the CT scan machine was now functional and that the MRI machine would also be made operational soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sitting was later adjourned until 2pm on Monday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PESHAWAR(National Times)- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Friday withdrew controversial provisions from the recently enacted KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026, including the issuance of official passports to lawmakers and their spouses for life. The provincial assembly had earlier in April passed the KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Imm\u00adunities and Privileges) Act, 2026, granting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":130877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n