The Senate witnessed rare political alignment as both government and opposition members agreed to refer a bill regarding blue passport facilities for parliamentarians and their families to the relevant committee.<\/p>\n
During the session, Senator Abdul Qadir tabled the Passport Act Amendment Bill 2026, proposing that former members of Parliament be granted free official (blue) passports, similar to the privileges currently extended to retired Grade-22 federal secretaries and their dependents.<\/p>\n
The bill\u2019s objectives highlighted the need to ensure uniformity in privileges for individuals who have served the state at senior levels, arguing that former lawmakers should also be entitled to similar facilities.<\/p>\n
Senator Abdul Qadir also presented an amendment related to the salaries and allowances of parliamentarians under the 1974 Act, proposing changes to Section 12, Sub-section (4), with immediate effect upon approval.<\/p>\n
However, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry opposed the bill, stating that misuse of passports can affect their credibility and international rating. He also noted that rules regarding blue passports for lawmakers and their families are already clearly defined.<\/p>\n
As debate intensified, the Chairman of the Senate observed the mood of the House and suggested that the bill would likely not pass if put to vote. On his recommendation, the bill was referred to the concerned standing committee for further review.<\/p>\n
Separately, the National Assembly also passed the Islamabad Mandatory Thalassemia Screening Bill and the Free and Compulsory Education Amendment Bill, marking progress on key legislative initiatives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Senate witnessed rare political alignment as both government and opposition members agreed to refer a bill regarding blue passport facilities for parliamentarians and their families to the relevant committee. During the session, Senator Abdul Qadir tabled the Passport Act Amendment Bill 2026, proposing that former members of Parliament be granted free official (blue) passports, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":69172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,16],"tags":[103],"ppma_author":[213],"class_list":{"0":"post-74441","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest","8":"category-pakistan","9":"tag-top-stories"},"yoast_head":"\n