Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Friday appeared to distance himself from a new law expanding provincial assembly members’ powers and immunities, saying that his observations were “on record” and that “public money belongs to the people”.
The KP Assembly passed the KP Provincial Assembly (Powers, Immunities and Privileges) Act, 2026, on April 30. Kundi had assented to the law, alongside others, on May 6.
However, following backlash, KP Chief Minister Sohail Afridi this week ordered a review of the new law’s provisions.
In a statement posted on X on Friday, the governor said his observations had been “on record since May” and that he had made it clear that “no law should become a means of expanding privileges when the people of Pakistan, especially the people of KP, were being asked to endure austerity and economic hardship”.
He said he had urged that the law be implemented “in the true spirit of fiscal discipline and prudent use of public resources”, adding that “a government that speaks of financial constraints cannot, in the same breath, legislate greater privileges for those in power”.
