The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister’s response to the public outrage over the Provincial Assembly’s new privileges law has been widely criticized as insufficient and delayed. Ordering a review after public backlash is seen as damage control rather than genuine leadership. Critics argue that the province does not need vague assurances that future steps will be taken “in the public interest”; it needs the law to be reversed entirely.
Government Claims Ignorance of Law’s Provisions
It is difficult to accept the government’s claim that it was unaware of what had been passed. The law moved through the Assembly, was voted on by lawmakers across the aisle, and was signed into effect. If the chief minister did not know what was in it, that is not a defence but an admission of negligence. A government cannot pass a law granting extraordinary privileges to lawmakers and then pretend surprise when the public reads it.
Chief Minister Blames Media for Propaganda
At least the chief minister has acknowledged that some provisions require reconsideration. However, that admission is weakened by the familiar reflex of blaming journalists and alleging propaganda. The media did not invent lifetime official passports for lawmakers and their spouses, expanded weapons licences, or privileges that deepen the distance between public representatives and the people they claim to serve.
KP’s Unique Challenges Ignored
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is not a normal province facing ordinary administrative pressures. It is a province scarred by terrorism, insecurity, displacement, economic hardship, and failing public services. Its lawmakers should be focused on these urgent realities, not on pursuing blue passports, firearms, and official deference. At a time when ordinary citizens face checkpoints, inflation, fear, and uncertainty, the Assembly has chosen to protect and pamper itself.
Call for Repeal of the Black Law
The chief minister must move beyond review committees and defensive statements. This black law should be repealed. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Assembly must return to the work it was elected to do: serving a wounded province, not rewarding itself.
