PML-N should challenge KP lawmakers’ privileges bill in court: Azma Bokhari

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari strongly criticized the privileges bill passed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly for its lawmakers, saying the legislation was passed overnight in secrecy while attempts were made to conceal its contents from the public. She said that until yesterday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf spokespersons had denied the existence of such a bill, but the truth has now come to light. Misleading the public and later backtracking from their position, she added, has become PTI’s trademark.

Azma Bokhari said PTI representatives falsely claimed that blue passports are provided to lawmakers in every province. She clarified that in Punjab, Members of the Provincial Assembly are only issued a limited official passport for the duration of their tenure, and it is strictly for the member concerned. No family member is entitled to this facility.

She said exemptions from toll taxes, the use of government rest houses along with family members, blue passports, and other unnecessary perks amount to lavish spending at the expense of taxpayers. She added that past instances of the misuse of blue passports are already well known.

Expressing serious concern over the clause relating to journalists, the provincial information minister said that allowing only favored journalists into the assembly while barring others would constitute a direct attack on press freedom. She remarked that had such a proposal even been considered in Punjab, PTI would have created an uproar, yet the same party remains silent over this move in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Azma Bokhari also questioned the proposal to increase the number of firearm licenses for lawmakers. She noted that Punjab lawmakers are allowed only two firearm licenses, whereas KP lawmakers are seeking licenses for eight Kalashnikovs. She stressed that Pakistan needs to be de-weaponized rather than flooded with more weapons. Referring to the recent tragic incident in Islamabad, she said it clearly demonstrates the dangers posed by the easy availability of firearms.

She questioned the purpose behind granting licenses for eight Kalashnikovs, asking whether they were intended for attacking D-Chowk or storming sensitive installations such as the Corps Commander’s House. At a time when Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is already grappling with terrorism and deteriorating law and order, she said the government’s priority should be restoring peace instead of promoting a culture of weapons.

The Punjab Information Minister described the most alarming provision of the bill as the attempt to grant lawmakers immunity from arrest, FIRs, and legal proceedings. She questioned whether legislators who violate the law, break prisons, damage public property, or attack sensitive installations should also be placed above the law. “Perhaps not even the Mughal Emperor sought such extraordinary privileges for himself,” she remarked.

Azma Bokhari said that under Pakistan’s Constitution, such constitutional immunity is reserved only for the President of Pakistan, and even that is subject to constitutional limitations. Granting provincial lawmakers immunity beyond the law, she maintained, is a blatant violation of the Constitution and democratic principles. She urged the Pakistan Muslim League (N) KPK chapter to challenge the legislation before the courts.

She further stated that PTI claims to oppose the elite while simultaneously seeking privileges that exceed those enjoyed by the elite themselves. Despite ruling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for fifteen years, the party has failed to bring meaningful improvements in law and order, employment, education, healthcare, or counterterrorism. Yet, she said, it now seeks royal privileges for its lawmakers, calling it the height of political hypocrisy.