THERE are multiple reasons for serious concern about the recent passage of the Powers, Immunities and Privileges Act, 2026, (Act VII of 2026) by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. The first concern is the lack of transparency about the details of the Act. Although the law was passed by the assembly on April 30, 2026 and assented to by the governor on May 6, it took a while for the text of the law to make it to the assembly’s website. Interestingly, the website showed texts of acts passed much later but this particular Act and two other similar ones (Acts VIII and IX) were not there, presumably because of anticipated public backlash.
Some of the privileges and powers among the long list of at least 21 privileges in the Act raise serious questions. Many of these privileges were a part of the repealed Act of 1988, but several new ones are included in the 2026 law.
Section 4 of the law exempts MPAs from attending court proceedings during the assembly or committee sittings. The courts have been advised to reschedule hearings or grant adjournments to suit the assembly or committee schedule. Given the present huge backlog of pending court cases, this privilege is certainly not going to help the efficient disposal of cases.
