In what appears to be a very tone-deaf development, the KP government on Monday proposed amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Privileges) Act, 1975, to prohibit the questioning of the use of its helicopters and aircraft. According to reports, the bill was introduced by labour minister Shaukat Ali Yousafzai in the provincial assembly causing heated exchanges between the treasury and opposition members. Before dissecting this bill, it must be said that there are a lot more other pressing issues that should be concerning our lawmakers.
The amendments to the bill will allow the use of an official helicopter and renting an airplane for private purposes with the permission of the chief minister. In addition, it also legalises the use of the provincial government chopper with retrospective effect from 2008. This means that it would also provide the government with immunity from allegations of misusing the helicopters under the PTI government, something which the NAB has been investigating. What is also concerning is the fact that it will allow any government functionary including the chief minister, minister, bureaucrat or anyone else endorsed by the CM, to use the government helicopter.
Surely this is excessive for a country that is teetering on the verge of default and the use of helicopters should only be limited to instances where it is absolutely necessary and with the utmost transparency and accountability.
In fact, with the NAB having completed its probe into the illegal use of KP government’s helicopters, it has been revealed that those who used the chopper for private use owe Rs 90 million to the provincial administration. In fact, the watchdog has written to the KP government to recover the cost of all the illegal trips taken by influential politicians, public officeholders and others such as former Prime Minister Imran Khan. This trend is extremely concerning, especially considering our economic woes and the plight of the common man in this country. Unchecked use of power cannot be allowed, and the hope is that these amendments are not allowed to go through.