PESHAWAR: Treasury and opposition members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday asked the federal government to issue them blue passports like members of the National Assembly and federal secretaries.

Under an agreement with Pakistan, several countries issue visa to Pakistanis with blue passports on arrival and exempt them from routine procedure at their airports.

By unanimously passing a resolution, which carried signatures of ministers, treasury and opposition MPAs called upon the federal government to entitle them to get blue passports.

The resolution also said BPS-20 and BPS-21 officers should be given blue passports.

MPA Shah Hussain Khan of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl read out the joint resolution, which said like members of the National Assembly and federal secretaries, members of the provincial assembly and BPS-20 and BPS-21 officers should also be entitled to get blue passports.

Last year, a scandal regarding issuance of blue passports to unauthorised persons had surfaced.

Later, the federal government decided to cancel over 2,000 blue passports.

Through another resolution, the assembly demanded of the federal government to exempt Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from certain taxes, including income tax, in light of a Peshawar High Court decision.

The resolution asked the federal government to direct the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to withdraw appeal against that decision from the Supreme Court.

It also said former prime minister had given the said exemption to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from July 2009 to June 2012. The resolution said the prime minister had waived tax in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for three years in 2012 under Section 126(F) of the Income Tax Act.

It said FBR did not give exemption after which the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chamber of Commerce approached the high court and the court gave verdict in favour of the chamber after it, which had been challenged in the Supreme Court.

Another resolution said the last provincial assembly had requested the federal government under Article 144 to authorise parliament to form rules and regulations for drugs and medicines.

“Rules and regulations had been formed but they have not been implemented causing problems for pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, the federal government should ensure implementation of said rules and regulations within 90 days otherwise powers regarding the drug regulatory authority should be delegated to the province under the 18th constitutional amendment.”

The treasury benches are apparently on the back foot in the assembly due to wrangling in the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf.

Four questions related to the local government department and two calling attention notices moved by the opposition members were referred to the relevant standing committees.

The minister and adviser didn’t sustain the opposition’s pressure and therefore, questions and calling attention notices to the committees were referred.

On a calling attention notice, adviser to the chief minister Yaseen Khan Khalil said contract of 33 employees of Provincial Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Settlement Authority hadn’t been renewed.

He said donor agencies, which funded the authority, had asked to remove additional employees.

The adviser said 77 employees were given extension in contract for six months on merit.