KP Assembly passes bill raising perks, privileges of ministers

• Ministers to get Rs1m for house provided to them by govt. 
• Ministers who live in private house to get Rs200,000 rent.
• Bill also allows ministers to buy carpets, curtains etc. 

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Monday passed a bill presented by Law Minister Aftab Alam Afridi to increase the privileges of provincial ministers.

According to the newly passed bill, KP ministers will get Rs1 million for renovating the house provided to them by the government. The bill also allows provincial ministers to buy carpets, curtains, air conditioners and refrigerators for their houses. 

Moreover, if the provincial ministers live in a private house, they will get Rs200,000 monthly rent, according to the bill. 

The KP Assembly had moved the bill in October, seeking an increase in monetary benefits for cabinet members. 

The amendment had drawn criticism from the opposition, which said it belied the oft-repeated claims made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders. 

“How they [PTI lawmakers] will face their own party workers. Where is the PTI manifesto?” asked opposition leader Dr Ibadullah Khan, who is from the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).

Flaying the PTI government for the bill, he advised the party legislators first to try to bring their leader — Imran Khan — out of jail instead of securing more perks and privileges for themselves. 

Dr Khan, who has been elected from Shangla district and is the younger brother of Federal Minister Amir Muqam, said the PTI government had contradictory policies. 

“The provincial government on the one hand cries over the financial crunch while on the other hand is looting the exchequer,” he said while coming down hard on the government for increasing the house rent for ministers from Rs70,000 to Rs200,000.