PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday called on National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq and Senate Chairman Yousuf Raza Gilani to convene a meeting of the speakers of all four provincial assemblies to develop a single, harmonised law governing the salaries, privileges and entitlements of lawmakers across Pakistan.
His remarks come in the wake of the KP Assembly’s passage of the KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026 on April 30. The legislation expanded the powers and immunities of provincial lawmakers, including granting lifetime official passports to members and their spouses.
Governor Kundi had assented to the law on May 6. However, following widespread criticism, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi earlier this week ordered a review of the legislation’s provisions.
In a post on X, Kundi said no province should enact extraordinary privileges for its legislators while simultaneously asking citizens to embrace austerity. He stressed that salaries, security, official passports, allowances and all other entitlements should remain uniform across the federation to ensure equal standards for all lawmakers.
He added that adopting a harmonised national framework was the only way to promote fairness, accountability and public confidence.
Shortly afterwards, Kundi appeared to distance himself from the law, saying his observations on the legislation had been on record since May and reiterating that public funds belonged to the people.
In another post on X, the governor said he had consistently maintained that no law should be used to expand privileges when the people of Pakistan, particularly those in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, were being asked to endure austerity and economic hardship.
“My position was clear then, and it remains unchanged today: public money belongs to the people, not to the perks of those who govern them,” Kundi said.
Sharing a copy of his earlier observations with the post, the governor recommended that the provincial assembly’s finance committee implement the spirit of the prime minister’s 14-point austerity measures, including expenditure cuts, fuel rationing and the removal of unnecessary privileges.
He also proposed that the finance committee review the legislation to ensure those principles were implemented in their true letter and spirit.
The KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026 replaces the 1988 law on the subject. While retaining most of the earlier legislation’s provisions, the new law introduces several expanded privileges for lawmakers.
Among its key provisions are lifetime official passports for assembly members and their spouses, blanket immunity from preventive detention, and eligibility to obtain licences for up to eight non-prohibited-bore weapons.
Under the repealed 1988 law, assembly members could not be placed under preventive detention during the period beginning 14 days before an assembly session and ending 14 days after its conclusion. It also prohibited preventive detention from seven days before a committee meeting attended by the member until seven days after the meeting had ended.