Flying High

A bill to allow the official use of helicopters for ministers and bureaucrats lands in the KP Assembly

Peshawar: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed an “aircraft and helicopter bill” on December 13 that allows its use by the functionaries of the government amid opposition protests and criticism.

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government approved the legislation allowing the chief executive of the province, ministers, and bureaucrats to use the provincial government’s helicopter or a rented aircraft for official use.

The legislation, which is part of certain amendments to the KP Ministers Act 1975 (salaries, allowances, and privileges) approved by the assembly, now allows the chief minister to use and allow members of his cabinet or public servants to use government-owned helicopters or aircraft for official use on the government’s dime. Under the new legislation, the chief minister may hire a helicopter or aircraft from the open market and requisition it from the federal government or the Pakistan Air Force (PAF); again, all expenses as billed by the letting party would be paid by the provincial government.

Creating an uproar during the proceedings with yells of NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance), the opposition members strongly criticised the amendments. They alleged that the provincial government was protecting itself, the party chairman, and former premier Imran Khan from any future troubles regarding the use of the helicopters, which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had objected to as Imran Khan and CM Mahmood Khan used the machinery during election campaigns.

Imran Khan, according to Ikhatir Wali Khan of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N), was using the KP government helicopter as an “auto rickshaw,” and the new amendment was designed to give him legal cover to continue misusing provincial government resources.

Speaking to Bol News, Awami National Party (ANP) parliamentary leader Sardar Hussain Babak alleged that for the first time in history, amendments were made to benefit personal interests. “Amendments always happened for the benefit of the people. However, it is the first instance of making amendments to the laws to satisfy personal interests. “It is not just the misuse of power but injustice and serious crimes against the province that the PTI has been ruling for over nine years without showing any sympathy for it or advocating for it on any stage,” Babak said while lambasting the provincial government.

He further argued that the amendments to the Ministers Act were a continuation of the PTI’s practise of bending the law for personal gains. “Amendments have been made in almost every department for persons and personal interests. We can talk about the health, tourism, forest, transportation, and education departments, the Bank of Khyber, and now the legitimisation of the illegal use of government helicopters. “The PTI has been misusing its majority in the assembly to make new laws and make amendments to the old ones only for personal gains,” said Sardar Babak.

Blaming the PTI government for the financial troubles of the province, Babak maintained that the Tabdeeli Sarkar bankrupted the province because they had withdrawn from the province’s interests on all fronts and, secondly, because corruption was a record high in the province. “The province is left to the terrorists, who are extorting money from people amid frequent incidents of target killings,” he said. “The PTI has redefined conflict of interest because many educational institutions, medicine companies, testing agencies, consultancies, printing and advertising agencies are owned by the PTI members whose businesses are openly rewarded by the government,” the fiery nationalist leader added.

He further highlighted that by covering the use of the helicopters during the ANP rule in the province, the new legislation was also protecting his party from any unwanted inquiries. “The PTI had no sympathy for the ANP, as evidenced by the formation of the Ehtisaab Commission solely to target the ANP,” he said.

“Including our rule in a time span in which the use of government helicopters could not be investigated was just to give themselves cover as passing legislation only for their own two tenures would have drew unstoppable criticism. Anyhow, our leader Asfandyar Wali Khan has openly said that if anyone can prove corruption against him or his sons, he will present himself for hanging,” Babak said.

Media reports in August this year suggested that Imran Khan’s 166 hours of use of KP government helicopters without permission from the relevant authorities had cost the KP government Rs70 million. Citing the NAB documents, the media reported that around 1,800 individuals used the two helicopters for 561 hours with the permission of the chief minister, incurring a cost of Rs240 million.

Expressing his views about the new legislation, political analyst Lehaz Ali opined that PTI’s concerns about the use of the helicopters began after former PTI member of the national assembly Noor Alam Khan wrote a letter to the KP chapter of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), requesting an inquiry into the use of the helicopter by Imran Khan as well as many politicians, bureaucrats, businessmen, and journalists.

“This legislation is only to give cover to the misuse of the helicopter by the PTI provincial government and particularly Imran Khan, who allegedly has more than 160 hours of flying in the KP government helicopters despite having no right to the facility after getting ousted from the prime minister’s house. It adds up to millions of rupees that the provincial government had to pay for Khan’s travel,” he said.

“The worrying factor is that no department or person can conduct any inquiry into the use of the whirlybirds,” Ali observed.

Similarly, the government choppers that in the past could be used in emergencies like we recently saw in September during evacuation and transportation of relief goods during the floods can now be used for entertainment purposes as well. “Anyone who can get approval from the chief minister can use the helicopter now, and it should not be surprising if we see it used during weddings as a bridal helicopter,” Ali said.