Islamabad: Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry has accused the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly of promoting the very “VIP culture” it once pledged to abolish, describing recently approved privileges for provincial lawmakers as a form of “political bribery.”
Speaking to PTV News, Chaudhry said the party that had promised to eliminate elite privileges had instead enacted legislation granting unprecedented benefits to its own members.
“They have one face for the public and another for themselves. They tell people one thing but do something entirely different,” he said.
He said successive governments and assemblies in Pakistan have introduced various benefits for legislators, but he claimed no previous legislature had approved a package of privileges comparable to those recently passed by the KP Assembly.
Chaudhry recalled that the party had once promised modest governance, with leaders claiming they would travel by bicycle and dismantle VIP culture. Instead, he alleged, its leadership had embraced official privileges while extending new benefits to lawmakers.
He said the legislation grants assembly members exemptions from toll taxes, free accommodation at government rest houses, lifetime official (blue) passports for legislators and their immediate families, and firearms licences without fees, among other benefits.
The minister, however, maintained that the provincial legislation is not binding on the federal government, particularly in matters such as the issuance of official passports and prohibited-bore firearms licences, which fall under federal jurisdiction.
Talal Chaudhry said the federal government, under the directives of the Prime Minister and the Interior Ministry, had reduced the number of official (blue) passports issued by nearly half over the past two years. Such passports are now reserved strictly for individuals travelling on official government duty, he added.
“No additional blue passports will be issued merely because of this provincial legislation or to extend political favours,” he said.
Addressing the issue of firearms licences, Chaudhry said the federal government had reduced the issuance of prohibited-bore weapons licences by 95 per cent compared to previous administrations. He added that such licences are now issued only in exceptional cases after strict scrutiny and primarily to those entitled under the law.
He further claimed that licences for non-prohibited firearms had also been reduced by 60 to 65 per cent, adding that the government intends to tighten the policy even further.
The minister argued that the provincial legislation amounts to “political bribery,” alleging that the ruling party in KP was rewarding its own lawmakers despite earlier promises to end preferential treatment for politicians.
He questioned whether ordinary citizens receive benefits such as free accommodation at government rest houses, complimentary firearms licences, special vehicle number plates, tinted vehicle windows, state-provided security, or official passports.
Chaudhry also referred to a previous incident involving a PTI lawmaker, alleging that the son of a National Assembly member had misused an official passport by travelling to Europe and later surrendering it while seeking political asylum, an episode he said had damaged Pakistan’s international image.
Highlighting federal reforms, the minister said the government had strengthened passport security features, improved the passport issuance process, curtailed fraudulent documentation, and significantly reduced the number of official and diplomatic passports issued to ineligible individuals.
He claimed these measures had contributed to an improvement in Pakistan’s passport ranking over the past two-and-a-half years and had helped facilitate visa-free arrangements for holders of official and diplomatic passports with several countries.
The minister reiterated that the federal government would not implement any provincial measures relating to official passports, prohibited-bore weapons licences, or other privileges that it considers unjustified.
He concluded by calling the KP Assembly legislation “ridiculous,” saying it exposes the political contradiction of a party that came to power promising to end VIP culture but has instead, in his words, created “a new example of VIP culture through legislation.”