KP govt enacts law granting lawmakers lifetime official passports, expanding privileges

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has enacted a new law that significantly expands the privileges of provincial assembly members, including granting them and their spouses lifetime official passports. The KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026, passed on April 30 and assented to by Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on May 6, repeals the previous 1988 law on the same subject.

While retaining most provisions of the old legislation, the new act introduces expanded benefits. Notably, Section 8 empowers assembly members to summon government officers to meetings within their constituencies or districts. Government officers are bound to attend these meetings, and failure to do so without sufficient cause constitutes a breach of privilege.

Furthermore, Section 10 of the new law grants members blanket immunity from preventive detention, a substantial increase from the previous law which only restricted detention during specific periods around assembly sessions and committee meetings. The new legislation states, "Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, no member shall be detained under any law relating to preventive detention."

Additionally, Section 11 mandates that authorities must obtain prior permission from the speaker before arresting a member on a criminal charge or for a criminal offense, or detaining them under an executive order. The speaker must be provided with the reasons for such an arrest or detention in a specified format. The full details of the Acts and gazette notifications have yet to be published on the KP Assembly website.