PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Shafi Jan has dismissed reports claiming that blue passports are being issued to members of the provincial assembly, saying no such decision has been taken by either the provincial government or the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
In a statement, the minister said the issuance of blue passports falls exclusively within the constitutional and legal jurisdiction of the federal government, and the province has no authority to introduce such a policy.
He explained that members of the National Assembly (MNAs) and their children are entitled to lifetime blue passports, while senators are also issued lifetime blue passports.
Members of provincial assemblies (MPAs) in all four provinces, however, are eligible for blue passports only for the duration of their five-year legislative term. The passports cease to remain valid once a member’s tenure ends.
Shafi Jan said recent reports suggesting that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had decided to issue blue passports to provincial lawmakers were misleading and without merit.
He added that the issue is not unique to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, noting that it has also been discussed in the assemblies of Sindh and Balochistan.
The minister said the matter was also raised during a Speakers’ Conference, where the speakers of all four provincial assemblies urged the Speaker of the National Assembly to consider extending similar passport facilities to provincial lawmakers if such privileges are available to MNAs.
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